


Murder on the Hydra Base

by Lei_sam



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, IronStrange, M/M, Murder Mystery, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Not Team-Cap friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2019-09-28 01:35:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 32,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17173337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lei_sam/pseuds/Lei_sam
Summary: “Steve, was Tony alive when you left Siberia?” came Natasha’s question as she walked into the living room.Steve froze at her words.OrTony Stark goes missing after the events of the Avenger's Civil War, and is presumed dead. A guilt ridden Steve Rogers will do anything in his power to find out what happened to the man.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this story stucked in my head ever since watching CACW, it is not completed as of yet, but I’d rather post it here than leave it to gather dust in my PC. Please keep in mind that the chronological order of some events might not be accurate, I had to tweak them a bit to fit the events of this story.  
> English is not my first leanguage, so I apologize in advance for some grammar errors. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

The sound of his shield hitting against the metal armor still resonated inside his head. Flashes of the fight, of the other man’s horrified wide eyes playing on a loop in his mind.

Steve stumbled through the snow, carrying Bucky through the thick white mounds towards the quinjet they had used to reach the abandoned Hydra base.

An almost frantic desperation shone in his eyes, the cacophony of thoughts and anxiety nearly paralyzing him, but the sight of the aircraft brought renewed force to his jerky movements. With struggling hands, he fumbled with the door until he managed to open it, dragging himself and his companion into the shelter of the jet.

Closing the door of the small cockpit felt like bliss, almost like putting a physical barrier between his demons and himself. The adrenaline that had fueled his flee was quickly dissipating, leaving him feeling shaky and nauseous.

Helping Bucky settle into the quinjet, he let himself collapse onto the pilot’s seat. His heavy breathing finally subsiding into a steadier rhythm.

“Are you ok?”

Bucky’s voice brought his scattered mind to the present, they needed to leave this place, and fast.

“Yeah Buck, I’m fine, are you ok?” He said, fixing his gaze at the man’s missing metal arm.

Bucky ignored him, his piercing gaze seeing right through him.

“Why didn’t you tell him? When you found out I had killed Howard and his wife?”

Bucky’s words were like a punch to the gut, it left his mind reeling.

“That wasn’t your fault” he said a bit too quickly, a bit too loudly, his words echoing inside the cockpit.

They both knew that was not what he had asked, but he let it go, Steve must have had his reasons to lie to his teammate, and he wasn’t about to start judging others over morally dubious decisions at this point.

“Buckle up, we have a long journey ahead of us” Steve said, averting his eyes.

He felt Bucky’s gaze drilling holes on the back of his head, but thankfully the other man said nothing, opting to settle on his seat.

It only later occurred to Steve that during their escape, not once had he turned to look back at what he was leaving behind. He was sure the action had some sort of symbolism to his current situation, but he was too occupied to dwell on it for now.

 

* * *

 

“What the hell happened?”

Natasha’s stern voice carried easily through the abandoned warehouse they where using as a hiding place.

Steve let out an exhausted sigh, they had barely made it through the door when Nat had come barreling down towards them “We were set up, Zemo never planned on reviving the other winter soldiers, he was only looking to destroy the Avengers”

Natasha had that particular glint in her eyes that reminded Steve he was in the presence of a seasoned killer “And how did he manage that?”

Steve stayed silent for a moment, averting his gaze at the uncomfortable question, unable to come up with an honest answer that didn’t involve blaming himself or Bucky.

“He managed to turn Tony against us… we had a fight and we had to leave” he said forcibly.

She stood there in silence for a moment, processing what Steve had said and what he had left out. She only had to look at Steve’s guilty face and at the man that was currently slumped in one corner of the building, trying his best to conceal the obvious pain his missing metal arm was causing him, to decipher what had happened.

“The Stark’s video” Not a question, but a statement.

Steve clenched his jaw but said nothing otherwise. Natasha needed no other confirmation, she had known all along that that damn video would cause them nothing but trouble. She still regretted not having told Stark about it sooner, but she had trusted Steve to do the right thing. She guessed he was more flawed than she had thought, a mere human like the rest of them.

“What about Stark? Is he gonna come after us?”

“I… I don’t know, I don’t think so”

“Are you sure? How can you be certain he won’t try to find him, get some revenge?” Natasha said, watching Bucky’s sorry state with a side glance.

“Tony wouldn’t…”

“Steve, he killed his parents” she interrupted him, letting some emotion color her voice.

“It wasn’t Bucky Nat, they made him do it” even he could recognize the plea in his voice, the desperate need for someone to understand it wasn’t Bucky’s fault.

“I know, let’s just hope Stark understands it too” she said with a heavy sight, turning away from both men. Natasha and Steve both knew they could have potentially made a very powerful enemy. If Anthony Stark decide to chase after them, they could be in some very real danger.

  

* * *

 

 

The next three days went by in a blur. The rogues had successfully rescued their companions from the maximum-security prison known as ‘the Raft’ without any major incidents.

Steve had feared Iron Man would be sent after them, he was dreading a new confrontation with the man, but it had fortunately not come to that.

This had given him a glimmer of hope, for he had reasoned that if Tony had refused to go after them it could only mean that there was still a chance to mend the broken bridge between the two of them.

Steve, Natasha and Bucky, along with the recently rescued Clint, Wanda, Scott and Sam were currently hiding in one of the secure locations Natasha had been able to procure them, a small and grimy two-bedroom apartment that seemed smaller by the sheer quantity of people currently residing in it.

“Steve, was Tony alive when you left Siberia?” came Natasha’s question as she walked into the living room.

Steve froze at her words. It took him a moment to comprehend what she was asking him. Wanda, Sam, Scott and he were sitting in the small dingy living room, playing with some cards.

“What are you talking about?” Steve’s senses immediately went on alert.

“It’s an easy enough question Steve, you heard her” Clint had entered the room right behind Natasha, both with somber expressions on their faces “Was Stark alive when you left?”

A moment of panic invaded him, had something happened to Tony? He turned to look at Bucky, who was currently occupying one of the lounging chairs on the other side of the room, but the man’s eyes where fixed on the two newcomers.

“Yes! He was alive when we left… what happened? Is Tony ok?”

Natasha and Clint shared a dark look but said nothing otherwise.

“What is it? Did something happen?” Dread filled him, but he tried to remain calm.

“Tell us again what happened in Siberia Steve” Natasha was changing her tactics, Steve noted, subtly taking the roll of an interrogator.

“Why? What’s going on? Is Tony ok?!” He knew he was raising his voice, but he didn’t care, he needed to know what was going on.

Natasha stayed silent form a moment, studying Steve’s reaction intently. It was Clint who took pity on him, stepping forward to answer “We intercepted a message. They’re sending a brigade to retrieve Stark’s corpse from the Siberian base”

“What?!” Steve said with a whisper, feeling his blood drop to his feet; how could that be? It had to be a mistake “That can’t be true, he can’t be dead!” he heard his own voice as if very far away.

Steve, did you see anybody else in the base? Was there someone else besides Zemo or king T´Challa there?”

“What? N-no, we… we where the only one’s there. Nat is it true? Is Tony really dead?”

Natasha stayed silent for a moment, weighting her answer.

“We don’t know yet, but the message we intercepted seemed legit. We do not dismiss the idea that it could be a trap, designed to lure you out of hiding, but so far there has been no sign of Tony, no one has seen nor heard from him ever since leaving for Siberia”

Steve was stunned, he remembered the fight, breaking the reactor and disabling Iron Man’s suit, Tony’s last words to him. Had Tony been dying while Bucky and him where fleeing the scene? It had been over a week since they had left that Hydra base, seven whole days, when mere minutes were more than enough time to kill someone under the merciless Siberian cold. Had Tony been unable to escape the base on his own? Had he not been able to contact someone for help?

He felt sick, nausea threatening to make him lose his breakfast. With a steadying breath, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings, the sound of the others around him, of the faint noise coming from the old radio in the kitchen. He tried his best to ground himself in the present, until Bucky’s voice sounded from across the room.

“Stark was pretty beaten up when we left, but nothing life threatening I believe”

“How can you tell?” came Clint’s sceptic voice. “From what Steve said, he smashed the reactor with enough force to break it, don’t you think that could have broken a couple of ribs? Punctured a lung? you know, Stark has diminished lung capacity, not to mention a shit ton of heart-related problems so, you might want to reconsider what you call ‘life threatening’”

Bucky said nothing, opting to glare at Clint with a scowl on his face.

“What about Pepper, or Rhodes? Has anyone heard from Tony?” Steve asked desperately. Surely someone must have contacted the man by now.

“We’ve checked. He hasn’t communicated with Pepper. She has been getting in touch with whoever she can to ask about him” Natasha said with a frown “And Rhodes is still in intensive care. Tony hasn’t been anywhere near the hospital to visit him” Sam averted his eyes at the mention of this. He still felt incredibly guilty for what had happened to the other man. He knew it hadn’t been him firing that blast, but he was still coping with the fact that he was somewhat responsible for almost killing a teammate. He could understand Steve’s need to know if he had indeed been responsible for Tony Stark’s death.

Natasha exhaled deeply, the only telltale that she was preoccupied by the situation “Steve, Tony would never stay away from either of them purposefully, not unless he was physically unable to reach them”

They all knew Pepper and Rhodey where Tony’s family. If none of them had heard from him by now, something bad must have happened to him.

“What about Vision?” At the mention of the android’s name, Wanda flinched slightly. She had been trying to get in contact with him ever since leaving Germany, to no avail, and the situation was driving her mad.

“We have a couple of reports locating him inside the Avengers compound until two days ago. The place has remained mostly empty since Wanda’s escape”

“Why are you all so worried about Stark? Him dying wouldn’t be the worst that could happen to us” came Wanda’s offhand remark, she had a sulky expression on her face, like she really couldn’t comprehend why the situation was so grave.

A low hiss escaped Steve’s mouth, but Natasha was the one to reply.

“It actually is the worst that could happen to us Wanda, because even if you don’t agree, Tony IS someone important to this team, and second, IF he really is dead, it could mean lots of trouble for all of us. Ross could use this to his advantage, advocating his death as another reason for enhanced humans to be on a leash. Like it or not, Tony was well loved by most of the public out there, and Ross will most likely turn him into a martyr for his cause”

Natasha hadn’t meant to come in Tony’s defense, but she felt incredibly frustrated that Wanda didn’t seem to comprehend the enormity of the problem they were all in.

“Ok, so what are our options? What can we do?” said Sam with an apprehensive glance at the others. He could feel the tension rising in the room, but they needed to look for ways out of this mess, and fast.

“We have to keep digging into this, find out whether Stark is really dead or not” Clint said after some thought. He didn’t like their odds, they were all in some very real danger of becoming public enemy number one, more so than they already were “And we have to prepare for the possible backlash this could have on us, like Nat said, this could mean a shit ton of trouble for us”

“I have to go to Siberia, I need to make sure…” said Steve with a low voice, eyes closed.

“It could be a trap Steve, there’s no doubt they’ll be on the lookout for us to show up”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take Nat, I can’t… we can’t let the government have Tony or his suit, he always fought to keep his tech away from them, it’s what he would have wanted” Steve’s resolve grew by the minute, if Tony was really dead, he couldn’t let the military steal his inventions, if he really was somehow responsible for the man’s death, it was the least he could do.

“You’re saying it like you really believe he’s dead, but what if he’s not? What if he’s just hiding or something?” Scott, who had been silent so far, seemed really concerned with the possibility.

“Then we’ll have nothing to worry about”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and company travel to Siberia, in hopes of discovering what happened to Tony, but they are not the only ones looking for the billionaire.

“I’ve got Vision on my radar”

They had almost reached the Siberian Hydra base aboard a quinjet. Steve, Natasha, Clint and Sam had decided to venture into the frozen desert to investigate the fate of the missing Anthony Stark, intent on either finding the man’s remains there, or finding some clues as to his whereabouts, while Bucky, Scott and Wanda had stayed behind in hiding.

“Where is he? What is he doing?” asked Steve from the back of the aircraft, making his way to the cockpit.

“The sensors indicate he’s at the entrance of the facility. He’s… just standing there” came Clint’s puzzled response.

“You want me to approach him?”

“No, we are not certain how he’ll react to our presence”

‘He might kill us on sight for killing Tony’ was left unsaid,but they all knew it was a possibility, however improbable.

 

* * *

 

“He hasn’t moved from that place in over an hour”

“What do you think he’s doing?”

“I have no idea. Maybe he’s mourning? Or maybe he’s waiting for something to happen? I don’t know”

Sam and Clint were currently surveying the scene before them from the relative warmth the quinjet offered. The Android’s lonely form hovering at the entrance of the base cut a striking contrast with the white and barren scenery around him.

Both Sam and Clint had volunteered to keep watch over the Android, while Steve and Natasha made a perimeter check to determine it wasn’t a trap they were blindly falling into.

“Steve’s taken this pretty badly, hasn’t he?”

Clint stayed silent for a moment. Sam hadn’t known Steve for as long as he had, ‘pretty badly’ didn’t come even close to the way Steve had taken all this. He didn’t show it, but Clint knew the man was bottling down all his feelings, and he knew sooner or later he would crack.

“Yeah, I don’t blame him though, Steve’s always had a soft spot for Tony”

“Really? to me, Stark never seemed close to anybody”

“Well, you really had to look for it, but… we all cared for the guy”

“What about you? How are you feeling?”

Clint hated when Sam used his counselor persona on him, but the truth was he felt… conflicted. He was still mad as hell with Stark for taking the side of the government. He was sure the man had known it was not the right thing to do, but at the same time, he hadn’t really wanted for anything like this to happen to him, he had been a good teammate and friend after all. He thought back on Steve, and how the remorse was consuming him. Not knowing if he was responsible for a man’s death could drive anyone mad.

“I… I didn’t hate the guy you know, not really. I was just mad at him for betraying us”  

Sam didn’t know what to think. From his perspective, Tony had been in a complicated situation, playing the devil’s advocate supporting the Accords. Even if Sam himself hadn’t agreed with them, he was aware that some sort of accountability was needed. He didn’t dare say it out loud, but Tony must have felt a greater betrayal falling figuratively and literally at the hands of his friends.

 

* * *

 

They were alerted to the imminent arrival of some company a couple of minutes later. A couple of black spots could be seen over the horizon. As they got closer, they could make out a convoy of vehicles approaching the area. At least a dozen of heavily armed Humvees stopped in a semi-circle around the base, enclosing Vision right in the middle of them.

None other than general Ross himself climbed down from one of the vehicles, walking in a straight line for the android. The two of them where enwrapped in conversation, with Vision still hovering a couple of centimeters above the ground, forcing the general to strain his neck to look up at him.

“Nat, can we get a read on what they’re saying?” Steve sat up straighter in his seat inside the quinjet.

“No, there’s too much interference, and I can’t make out Vision’s face clearly”

Suddenly the General turned and stalked towards the entrance of the base, followed by a group of soldiers. Vision simply stood hovering in place, with the rest of the soldiers standing guard around him outside the building.

Steve and Natasha exchanged looks “What do you want to do?” time was running out, if they wanted to make their move, it had to be now.

“Nothing, we’ll wait. IF Tony is really inside, I doubt the military will try to do anything funny with Vision present. We’ll just have to wait and see”

 

* * *

 

In the end they hadn’t had to wait all that long. Ross had stormed out of the facility about thirty minutes later, brushing past Vision without sparing the android a second glance. By the older man’s body language, they could infer he had not found whatever it was he had been hoping to find.

“They’re leaving, but I don’t think they’re taking anything with them” Clint noted “At least nothing body-shaped or armor shaped”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked from his seat on the back of the quinjet, feeling the tension leave his body at the prospect of Ross leaving and them being able to get out of that hell hole.

“Ross didn’t seem pleased” Steve said pensively.

“I’m beginning to doubt Ross came all this way for Stark” said Clint to the others at large.

“I agree, it seems highly unlikely he came out here to check if Tony’s remains were there. I think he used this as an excuse to visit this base, and what it might still contain…”

“You think he’s trying to get a hold of the other Winter Soldier’s remains in there” said Sam with a worried expression, he didn’t want to think what would happen if the man got his hands on a sample of the super serum from the Winter soldiers.

“If that’s the case, why isn’t he taking them? why is he leaving empty handed?” asked Steve while checking the quinjet sensors. There didn’t seem to be anyone left on the base, except for the android still hovering at its entrance.

“Vision” said Natasha with conviction.

“You think he took care of the remaining Winter soldiers?” Steve looked up from the console panel.

“I think it’s the most likely explanation” she said with a nod.

“That still leaves us with the mystery of what happened to Tony” said Clint with an annoyed expression.

“Currently, there’s only one person who might know the answer to that”

The four of them looked towards the main monitor, where they could make out Vision amidst the blizzard that had started to fall around them. After a moment they saw the android floating away into the sky, taking with him the only clue as to what might have happened to Tony Stark.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Co. venture inside the abandoned Hydra base, looking to find out what happened to Tony

Steve, Natasha and Clint had ventured into the abandoned hydra base once they made sure Ross and Vision were gone, leaving Sam behind inside the quinjet, keeping a lookout in case they had any more unexpected visitors.

The inside of the base had a more sinister feel to it compared to the last time Steve had set foot in there. This time, there was no electricity in place, so they had had to restore to their emergency flashlights. Great parts of the building were damaged or destroyed. They could clearly see the signs were the fight had taken place, the violence and destruction of it more than evident in the ruins of the place. It left Steve feeling appalled, he couldn’t believe he had let things escalate in such a harrowing way.

He could almost hear the echoes of the fight filling the place, the memories plaguing him with a force that made him take a step back and just… breath.

“Are you ok?” Natasha was looking at him with that sharp expression of hers, like she could see right through him.

“Yeah, fine, let’s go” without waiting for an answer Steve led the way through the narrow passages of the base, going straight for the place where he had last seen Tony Stark alive.

After some careful examination, they could find no evidence of the other Winter Soldiers remains anywhere, nor could they find the cryochambers they had been stored in. Steve could now see that, beside the massive destruction their fight had caused, there were also some clear signs of someone tampering with the place.

He now understood what Vision had been doing. The android had taken it on himself to destroy all evidence of the Hydra experiments done in that place, and he had done a very thorough job.

Walking down another dark corridor they could make out some natural light filtering through the other end. Steve’s trepidation grew by the minute, his adrenaline spiking as he almost ran into that dreaded room where he had left a beaten teammate behind. A part of him knew Tony wouldn’t be there waiting for him, wouldn’t receive him with a goading remark, as he so often had done, but still, he couldn’t suppress the disappointment of finding the room completely empty.

The echo of their footsteps resonated through the place. The three of them contemplated the sight before them, the evident raw emotion of the fight that had taken place in there still resonated in the atmosphere, the ghost of a heart wrenching emotion filling the place.

“You two put up a really good fight eh? I’m surprised Tony didn’t simply evaporate the two of you” said Clint with his usual tactless manner while he examined the distorted and charred remains of what must have once been Bucky’s metallic arm, letting out a low whistle. The evident intensity of the fight could be seen everywhere, from the holes and scorch marks on the walls and ceiling, to the blood stains still visible all over the floor of the place.

“Clint” Natasha said with a low admonishing voice. She could tell Steve was torn inside by the harrowing scene. But Steve didn’t seem to hear them though, as he was currently looking transfixed at a depression on the floor, splashed with an alarmingly large amount of dried blood.

“Steve…” Natasha knew that must have been where Tony had fallen, his armor taking the damage from Steve’s blows. Blows thrown with enough force to leave a small crater on the floor.

“I killed him…”

“You don’t know that”

“How could anyone survive this?”

Natasha put a gentle hand over Steve’s arm, trying to get his attention away from the bloodied scene “We’re talking about Tony, if anyone could figure out a way to escape this, it was him”

Steve’s glassy eyes met hers “What if he didn’t manage this time?”

The utterly raw emotion on his voice made her avert her gaze. There was simply no way to know what had happened to Tony, no way to comfort the bleeding heart of the guilty man falling apart in front of her.

“We ought to go, we still have to search the rest of this place” Clint broke the heavy silence, feeling awkward in the face of Steve’s distress. But, he thought, they still had a job to do after all.

 

* * *

 

 

They went through every nook and cranny of the base, trying to gather as much information as they could. Vision had done a pretty exhaustive job of destroying all evidence of the winter soldier program. This represented both a relief and a challenge for them. On one hand, it meant Vision had made sure none of this technology, nor the super soldier serum, would fall into the wrong hands, general Ross’s included. On the other, it would be near impossible to obtain information that could help them with Bucky’s current mental state. The man was suffering from severe flashbacks from his previous assassin’s life, the brainwashing firmly present in the man. They were all at a very real risk of the Winter Soldier being reactivated sooner or later.

A sudden loud crash made the three of them jump. A section of a far wall had collapsed under its own weight, leaving a thick cloud of dust hovering over the room. The three of them dispersed over the room, looking for whatever useful thing they could find.

“Steve, Clint, come here, I think I found something” Natasha called them from atop a small mountain of rubble, inspecting the wall that had collapsed.

“What did you find?” Came Clint’s response. So far, they had not found a single clue that could clarify what had been of Tony.

“You see these exposed cables here? These are the type used for security cameras, but these seem relatively new, compared to the other wiring I’ve seen around”

“You mean someone installed these recently?”

“You think Zemo rigged this place with cameras?” Both Steve and Clint said almost at the same time.

“Yes to both, that seems to be the most likely explanation”

“If there were cameras installed, maybe one of the videos could tell us what happened to Tony” Steve said hopefully, maybe they could finally solve this mystery.

“There’s only one way to find out”

They spent the better part of an hour tracing the cables to their source, navigating through collapsed walls and empty hallways.

“No luck guys, the videos where not physically stored here. The system has a remote recording function connected via satellite. Whoever placed the cameras has the videos stored somewhere else”

Steve gave Natasha a disheartened look. He had been so sure they could find a clue that would lead them to Tony.

“Can you trace the videos Nat?” asked Clint while helping her hop down from the control panel mounted over the wall she had escalated.

“Not with what I have at hand, but I can give it a try somewhere with more resources”

“That sounds like a plan” Steve said with a bit more conviction, perhaps not everything was lost. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news of Tony’s disappearance finally reaches the media, and the situation forces several of the rogues to consider their life choices.

Natasha saw Steve getting up from the motel’s dingy couch and head to the room at the end of the hall without saying a word, the soft click of the door hiding him from view. Wanda, Sam, Steve and she were staying at a small and inconspicuous motel. They had been watching the small black and white TV when the transmission was interrupted to broadcast some breaking news: “Iron Man, missing”

The media had finally caught wind of the news, and it had spread like wild fire. From the first few rumors to a full-blown mass coverage in the span of a few hours, the disappearance of one of earths greatest heroes had come as a shock to everyone. It had been close to a month since anyone had last seen Iron Man or its alter ego Anthony Stark. Every news media, televised, digital or printed, had dedicated at least a segment of their content to discuss the billionaire’s disappearance. Speculations and rumors soon spread everywhere. From a visit to rehab to alien abduction, the theories were running wild.

Surprisingly, even the stock market had been affected. Stark Industries had taken a tumble, with its investors having a panic attack and trying to sell their shares, which had in turn caused mayhem in wall street and the global market at large. Who would’ve thought a single man could have such an impact over the entire world. But Anthony Stark’s disappearance had had that impact, and the world was in turmoil for it.

In the light of these events, even the Sokovia Accords seemed to be gaining supporters everywhere. The political scene was in uproar, with a clear fraction of the public pushing to pass the measures proposed by the accords, as originally conceived by those behind them.  

Since Anthony Stark, who had up to that point taken the lead as one of the most prominent moral compasses amongst the Accords supporters was not around anymore, there was no one left to try to mitigate the accords worst aspects towards enhanced humans, with many experts predicting a dark future over the faith of these individuals.

On a surprising note, from a growing part of the population that opposed the accords, a new proposal had emerged, a direct counterpart to the iron grip way the enhanced individuals were trying to be regulated. The so-called Stark’s bill was quickly gaining supporters all over the globe. The bill had been born when an anonymous source had leaked to the media a series of modifications a group of collaborators, with Tony on its lead, had made to the Accords. It was evident that Anthony Stark had disagreed with large portions of said document, and that he had been trying to advocate for a fairer system, one that would regulate the way supers operated, placing especial care into the accountability of those enhanced individuals without falling into witch hunts.

All in all, it seemed that Tony Stark was the primary source of discussion among the public these days, but there seemed to be a notorious lack of opinion regarding the man’s current missing status from the one place it shouldn’t have: Stark Industries.

So far, there had been no official statements made by Tony’s own company. Some people considered this silence a misguided attempt by the company to try to keep its investors calmed, others, Steve included, considered it a clear sign that even the company had no idea what had happened to Tony.

Either way, the company had been strongly criticized, when even their CEO Pepper Potts had declined to give any details concerning Tony’s whereabouts. It was only two weeks after the first rumors had surged, that SI had finally given an official statement through a harassed looking spokesman, citing the situation as a ‘misfortune’ and confirming Tony Stark’s ‘disappearance’. They had given no further details, and neither had they mentioned any current efforts to try to locate the man. All in all, the situation was starting to become one of the most talked about mysteries of the decade.

Steve and the rest of the rogues saw this public turmoil with growing apprehension. Faced with such scenario, Clint and Scott had decided to jump ship and go back to their respective families.

For Clint, the decision had been a long coming one. He could see the dark panorama they were most likely to face if the authorities tried to pin the disappearance of Stark on them, on top of all the other charges they would surely face for the so-called Civil War fiasco.

It had been one of the toughest decisions of his life, but the need to be near his family far outweighed his desire to stay with the rogues. Knowing that Natasha had his back, and with a quick apology to Steve and the others, Clint had left their hiding place in the middle of the night.

For Scott, things had been radically different. The rest of the rogues could tell the man was pretty shaken. No doubt he hadn’t really foreseen what following the Captain would actually entail. With Clint’s departure, Scott realized he could also have an opportunity to be with his family, but he was rather reluctant to give himself up.

In the end, it had been Steve who had given the man that final push he needed to make up his mind. Steve had thanked Scott for his help, making it clear that Steve was letting him off the hook of everything, asking him to leave and to reunite with his family. Scott had taken Steve’s words like a drowning man a lifesaver. The relief on the man was evident, and with a bit of a guilty conscience, he had left the very next morning.

The last the rogues had heard from either of them was that they had both made deals with the government to give themselves up in exchange of more lenient sentences. Both had been greatly pressured to give up the location of the rest of the rogues, but they had refrained from commenting anything about it.

Steve felt deeply the departure of both men, but he understood both had their priorities. He was still struggling with the guilt of having dragged them all into this mess, but he was happy to learn at least Clint and Scott would have the opportunity to salvage the relationship with their loved ones.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was the middle of the night, the eerie silence was broken by a faint thumping noise, followed by a couple of whimpers and stifled cries. With clenched fists, Steve made a conscious effort to relax, sitting himself straighter on the chair he had propped against the other side of Bucky’s door.

Steve and Natasha had taken it upon themselves to keep watch over Bucky’s frequently troubled sleep. The man had refused to slumber for the first couple of days, afraid of the tormenting flashbacks he suffered as a direct result from the Winter Soldier brainwashing program he had been subjected to for years. On the scarce occasions the man had dozed off, he had been immediately woken up by nightmares, making him disoriented and oftentimes violent. Steve had had to subdue him on several instances.

The situation was turning tenser with each passing day with Bucky and the rest of the rogues, who were rapidly becoming weary of the soldier and the way he would lose control whenever he fell asleep. Natasha had finally come up with a solution: with Bucky’s consent, they would partially restrain and isolate him each night, in an attempt to keep him from hurting himself or anyone else. The solution was far from perfect, but Bucky desperately needed the rest, as did the others. They had also unanimously decided someone would also have to constantly keep watch over him, in case the brunet lost control during his rest.

Steve had been less than thrilled by the solution but looking at Bucky’s tired and fragile state of mind made him give in. The man staying with them was nothing but a shadow of the Bucky he had once known. The constant flashbacks and paranoid attacks were taking a toll on the man, and they all knew it.

Tonight, it was Steve’s turn to keep watch over Bucky. Straining his ears, he could hear a labored breath coming from the room. As much as it broke his heart, he stayed seated in his place, praying to god Bucky would fall asleep soon. But as much as he wanted to pretend things would get better by themselves, he couldn’t keep fooling himself. Bucky was in desperate need of help, and there was only one place he would get that help. He just hoped king T´Challa would keep his promise to heal Bucky. They were running out of options, and fast.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rogues are at risk of the Winter Soldier coming back, so Steve and Bucky travel to Wakanda looking for king T'Challa's help.

The technological wonders and advances of Wakanda had stopped amazing Steve by now. It had been over three days since Bucky and him had been granted entrance into the hidden country of Wakanda. And three days since they had last seen the king.

The man had been present when they had landed, giving them both a curt welcome, only to make his excuses and abruptly disappear the very next moment.

“You think he changed his mind?” Bucky had never harbored any hopes of getting any real help from T’Challa, but Steve had insisted they seek the man’s aid.

“I’m sure he’s a man of his word, he’ll find a way to help you Buck, you just wait”

Bucky couldn’t comprehend how Steve could keep his faith in people, but he hoped he was right, it would be a relief to be able to get rid of his Winter Soldier programming once and for all.

But the waiting was unnerving Steve. The situation had become unsustainable. With each passing day the winter soldier lurked closer to the surface of Bucky’s mind, until Steve knew it was a matter of time until they lost Bucky forever, so he had convinced the rest of the rogues that this was the best option they had.

He had been so sure the king would gladly help them, that all of Bucky’s troubles would suddenly disappear, but looking back, Steve knew he had been incredibly naïve. By the lack of any sign that the king would concede them a visit anytime soon Steve was starting to fear they would simply be turned away. He made up his mind, he would give the king another day before making their escape from the palace.

 

 

* * *

 

 

On the dawn of the fourth they, they were unceremoniously woken up by a loud bang at their door. Jolting up from his place on a chair by their dormitory’s door, Steve carefully made his way to the main door. He was amazed to find king T’Challa standing on the other side, sans his usual herd of elite guards surrounding him, although Steve doubted they were very far away.

“Your highness” he said as he stepped aside to let the man in.

“Captain Rogers, my deepest apologies for the long wait, things have been… complicated these past couple of days”

“I understand your highness, thanks again for agreeing to see us”

With a wave of his hand he dismissed Steve’s words, opting to sit on the small living room attached to their quarters.

Steve could feel a cold demeanor from the king, he tensed for a moment, getting ready to receive whatever bad news the man was about to give them.

With a deep sigh, T´Challa fixed his gaze upon Steve. “Captain tell me, what are all these rumors I’ve been hearing about Tony Stark’s disappearance?”

That took Steve off guard, he’d been focusing so intently on getting Bucky the help he needed, that he forgot to question what T’Challa’s posture could be. He tensed, looking at the other man intently. Realizing he had no other option, he decided to tell an abridged version of the events to the king.

“King T´Challa, you were there, at the Siberia base. Zemo… he set us up, he made us fight among ourselves. Bucky and I escaped, but we don’t know what happened to Tony after that. I’d very much like to know for myself if Tony is ok…”

The king didn’t seem convinced with Steve’s recount of things, and he had the distinct feeling that he had failed whatever test T´Challa was putting him through. Averting his gaze, the king inspected the room.

“Where is your friend Captain?”

“Bucky has to be restrained whenever he has an episode, he’s sleeping off one of them right now”

This information seemed to surprise the man, who stayed silent for a moment.

“Captain Rogers, I gave you my word that I would help your friend to the best of my ability, and I intend to keep my word. But due to resent… events, I am sure you understand that I cannot extend said help to either you or any of your teammates”

Steve’s joy was evident to the other man, and for a moment T´Challa felt deeply conflicted with the situation. He had an extremely guilty conscience towards Anthony Stark, the man that had worked relentlessly to bring forwards the Accords that his father had advocated for, the man he had briefly worked alongside of, someone he had come to respect in that short time. He knew he should not pass judgment easily, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep a neutral stance on this matter. He could be helping Stark’s hypothetical murderers, and that did not bode well with him.

He had been debating with himself and with his council for the last three days on whether or not to grant The Winter soldier asylum. His will had finally prevailed, but the council’s stance had been clear, they would not tolerate the presence of any other rogue amidst Wakanda’s soil.

He had thought the news would have a different impact on the Captain, but he suddenly realized that the man seemed to have no other priority than to see his friend safe. The realization gave him chills, was this the real reason for Stark’s defeat? Had the man somehow come between the Captain and his friend? T’Challa wasn’t sure, but he prayed to the gods that he was making the right choice.

Standing up from his place, T’Challa reached for the door, turning to look back at the blond man once again “Captain, if it is true that Anthony Stark is dead, we better pray to whoever will hear us, because I can foresee things will only get more difficult for all of us from now on”

Steve was left pondering the king’s cryptic words, but he decided to leave them for the time being, right now, he had to tell the good news to Bucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for this chapter I had to debate with myself on what would T´Challa do in this situation. I'm sure he wouldn't willingly help someone if he knew for a fact those people were lying to him, but in this case, he can't be sure whether or not Steve had something to do with Tony's disappearance. I'm sure at this point he doesn't know Bucky killed Tony's parents and that THAT was the real reason behind their fight, so for the purposes of this story, T'Challa will try to be a neutral figure in all of this, much like his role in the CACW.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rogues are on the run again, Wanda is acting up as usual and Natasha finally tracks down the bunker videos. But the mystery continues.

The last month had been an exercise in patience for Steve and company. With Scott and Clint back with their families, and Bucky staying at Wakanda, Sam, Steve, Wanda and Natasha had had to face the weight of the public’s scorn by themselves.

During the last couple of weeks several governments had made public a long list of charges against the rogues, with many of them issuing international arrest warrants, trying to enforce them at all cost, getting dangerously close to overstepping on their way the United States government. These countries were accusing the latter of keeping the rogues hidden, causing an extremely tense political atmosphere that had every politician in a fit. The videos that had been released of the Avenger's fight in the Leipzig airport, as well as the tunnel collapse in Bucharest and the explosion in Lagos had placed the rogues in a very bad light amongst the public, with many of them wondering if the rogues had any connection with Iron Man´s disappearance.

With the authorities doubling their efforts to capture them, and the general public condemning them, the rogues had been having a hard time keeping hidden from the outside world. So far, they had managed to keep themselves off the radar, but Steve was not sure how long that would last.

Their situation was turning dire, especially for Wanda. The rest of the team had started noticing her growing restless; she would often refuse to participate on the team’s missions, especially if they involved investigating the whereabouts of Tony Stark. She was also cooperating less and less with the simple choirs they each had as a way to keep their living quarters habitable, and even going as far as openly challenging all of Steve’s and Natasha’s decisions regarding the team. She had even had an argument with Sam, where the witch had used her powers against her teammate.

Steve wanted to believe this was a rebellious phase all young people went through, but Natasha had dissuaded him from this notion. Wanda was no child, and even if she was a young woman, the behavior she depicted could in no way be attributed to her age. To put it simply, the woman had issues, and she was having a hard time finding a healthy coupling mechanism for her compulsive behavior.

Natasha also attributed Wanda’s sudden lack of self-control to the fact that the woman had recently re-established her contact with Vision. She behaved like a love-sick teenager, blaming the entire world for keeping her and her lover apart. Although Natasha had notice that Wanda and the android seemed to have a connection beyond that of a simple physical attraction. She had long suspected Vision’s gemstone, which was the source of Wanda’s powers, was the real reason they both had such a strong pull on each other.

Either way, they had tolerated the witches’ behavior, until they had woken up one morning to find the woman had taken her leave. Steve had been beyond himself with worry, fearing something had happened to Wanda during the night. Natasha had had to remind him that the woman was one of the most powerful beings on the planet, if anyone could take care of themselves, it was definitely her.

To Steve’s dismay, Sam and Natasha had agreed they needed to change locations, considering Wanda’s desertion a risk for themselves, and after some debating, Steve had agreed. That same day they had changed their hiding place.

 

* * *

 

 

Natasha, Sam and Steve had relocated into a small abandoned warehouse outside the city's outskirts. The place lacked any real accommodations, but it had a couple of beds and a portable stove, alongside a small working bathroom, for which Steve had been grateful.

Steve had taken advantage of the place’s isolation to start up an exercise routine. He ran a couple of kilometers each day before dawn, enjoying the peace of mind the exertion gave him. He had been under a lot of pressure lately. His mind wouldn't stop thinking over the many mistakes he had made during the last couple of months, going over them in and endless loop, his thoughts keeping him awake at night, making it almost impossible to concentrate on his daily tasks.

He stepped back into the warehouse just as the sun was starting to illuminate the vast expanse of field, only to find Sam and Natasha were already awake and making some breakfast. As he stepped closer to them, he noticed they were listening intently to a small radio they had picked up along the way.

“What’s going on?"

“They’re announcing an SI subsidiary is closing off” said Sam whilst placing a pot of coffee over a small table they had improvised.

“What? Why?”

“Apparently, they’re claiming some new strategy that involves cutting back on the company’s expenses"

"I can't believe they're already making changes to Tony's company! The man has only been gone for a month!" said Steve angrily, he felt it like a personal affront, how dared those bastards take advantage of Tony's absence to touch the man's company?!

“That's what I was just saying. I’m telling you all, it’s starting, whoever is in charge of SI now, they will revert all the work Stark did on his clean energy policy. I can bet you anything you want that next we’ll hear, they’ll announce SI is back to manufacturing weapons”

“Pepper wouldn’t allow that” Steve said with a frown. There was no way Pepper would let any shareholder make that call.

“Apparently, Pepper hasn’t been all that involved in the company these past couple of weeks” said Natasha from behind a steaming cup of coffee. She seemed rather pensive over the news.

The other two stayed silent, they knew Pepper must have taken a pretty hard blow with Tony's disappearance, it wouldn't be too farfetched to think the woman needed some time to sort herself out after something like that.

“And what branch are they closing? Was it something big?” Steve asked, trying very hard not to think of Pepper, and the guilt he felt thinking of what she must be going through with Tony's absence.

“It was actually a small subsidiary called innovative research, with only about 20 people working there”

“That few? Doesn’t sound too important then”

“They were all specialized researchers. Tony had gathered there half of the most brilliant minds the medical and biochemical industry had to offer”

Sam let out a low whistle, whatever Tony had going on there, it must have been something pretty big but, he guessed, they'd probably never know about it now.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After a week of not hearing from Wanda, the rogues had been in shock to see the woman walking down the dirt road that lead to the old warehouse they had been staying at. After questioning her about her whereabouts and how she had found them, all she had let on was that she had ‘needed some space’ and that she ‘just knew where to find them’.

Natasha hadn’t let on how unnerved she was with the woman, but she decided they needed to keep her in check, after all, Wanda had made it perfectly evident she was not someone they wanted as an enemy.

A couple of days later, Steve found the woman sitting in the back of the warehouse playing with her magic, making a couple of leaves float in a circular pattern around her hands.

“Hey Wanda, you’ve got a minute?”

“Sure Steve, what is it?” She said without breaking eye contact with the leaves. The gesture irked Steve for a reason, but he tried to keep himself calm, he needed to ask the woman a favor after all. With a mental sigh he sat down next to her.

“Wanda, have you been able to talk to Vision? Has he told you anything about Tony? If he’s alive?”

“No” said the woman a bit too fast, the insincerity in her voice evident to both.

Steve couldn’t suppress the annoyance from his face this time, but Wanda leveled him with a sour glance of her own. And to her credit, she wasn’t exactly telling a lie. After all, Vision had told her nothing about the missing man. The fact that she hadn’t deemed it worthy of her time to inquire about Stark in the first place was another matter completely. The way she saw it, she wasn’t about to sacrifice the precious little time she had with Vision discussing unpleasant things.

“Ok. Then tell me, how did you find us Wanda? Do you think you could find someone if you tried?”

Steve’s hopeful face only served to annoy the woman further. She would never use her powers to find Stark, and Steve was a fool for even suggesting it.

“I told you, I don’t know how I found you, I can’t control it at will” she said evasively, she had no desire to discuss this with the man.

Steve sat there in silence, a disappointed glare directed at her, but she didn’t care. She knew she could do pretty much anything she wanted, and the Captain would always relent to her wishes.

With a sigh, Steve stood up from the ground, making his way back to the warehouse without saying another word.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“FRIDAY has gone offline”

The news had come as a shock to Steve “What?! Are you sure?”

Natasha nodded from her place in front of her laptop “Yes, it is protocol after all. Without Stark around, after an extended period of inactivity all of his AI’s are to go into hibernation mode”

Steve’s disheartened face filled her with pity. The man was becoming obsessed with the billionaire’s disappearance she knew, but a part of her also wanted to know what had happened to Tony. Even though she would never admit it, she still felt guilty for having turned her back on the man.

“I also intercepted a couple of messages Friday sent before going silent” She continued with a neutral face. The fact that she hadn’t been able to crack them still annoyed her.

“What were they? What did they say?” he said with renewed interest.

“They were heavily encrypted, I couldn’t crack them, but one of the messages was sent to Peter Parker”

“Who is Peter Parker?” asked Sam as he made his way to the other two.

“We met him in Germany, spider-man, remember?” Natasha said, looking through the files on her computer and showing both men Peter’s picture.

“That was him? He’s just a kid!” came Steve’s startled response. He had known spider-man had been young, but he couldn’t believe Tony had taken a kid into their fight.

“That kid had the strength to go toe to toe with you Steve” said Natasha with an unreadable face.

Steve remembered the fight. He suddenly felt bad for not holding his punches against a kid, and an unreasonable anger against Tony filled him up. He knew Natasha was right, the youngster had been on par with him on strength, but he couldn’t believe Tony had been so irresponsible.

“Still, I can’t believe Tony would involve a kid in all this!”

Natasha levelled him with a piercing gaze “Steve, I was there, Tony brought the kid as backup, he kept telling us he did not want to escalate the fight. I hardly think he was planning on the kid to get into a fight with you of all people”

Steve pondered over this for a moment. Looking back, he realized how hasty he had been to get into a fight with Tony, how he hadn’t really considered the consequences it had brought them all.

“From what I’ve gathered, Tony was very close to the kid, maybe he left a final message for him” she said, redirecting the conversation back to the messages at hand. She skipped through her files, showing them several pictures of Tony and Peter together. Both seemed rather happy in them, Sam could almost feel the father-son relationship there, and it suddenly made him realize he had known next to nothing about Stark’s personal life.

“Who were the other messages for?” he asked, trying to change the subject of Stark’s protegee.

“Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes and a Stephen Strange” Natasha read the complete list.

“Hold up, Stephen Strange? Who is that?” asked Sam while glancing at the screen. The name rang a bell, but he wasn't sure where he had heard the name before.

“He was a famous neuroscientist that got into a car accident a couple of years ago. He disappeared from the medical scene and joined a cult of some sort in Nepal, but that’s about all the information I’ve got on him”

A cult? That didn’t sound good to Steve, but then again, he knew Tony was known for having some very questionable connections “What relationship did he have with Tony?” he asked as an afterthought.

“Well, FRIDAY sent messages only to those closest to Tony, so it is safe to deduce the man had a close association with him, personal or professional is yet to be seen”

Steve felt an unexpected bout of guilt and shame at those words. Learning that FRIDAY had contacted Tony’s closest friends, and that he had been nowhere on that list made him sad. The fact that he was partly responsible for Tony’s absence did not register on his mind in that moment, he only felt the pang of regret for not having dedicated enough of his time to getting to know and understand the man.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Things with Wanda and the rogues was still rocky. The woman had started to disappear for days at a time without telling them where she went, but one thing was certain, the woman always found them wherever they relocated to. It was during one of these disappearances that Natasha had finally had a breakthrough in their investigation regarding Tony’s fate.

During her spare time, she had been working on tracing the bunker videos back to their source. It had taken her relatively little time to locate where the videos were being stored. It had taken her proportionately more time to crack into the system to access them. Once again, she cursed her current lack of any sophisticated tools to do her job, but her feelings of remorse, even if she didn’t want to acknowledge them as such, where what had kept her working hard to accomplish the task.

With a sigh of relief, she let her eyes close. She had finally retrieved the videos and had secured them on her own computer, deciding to review them before letting Steve know of her findings. It would be better to know what had happened to Tony beforehand, so she could anticipate how Steve would react.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Natasha had been mentally prepared for what she would find in those videos, but what she saw had made her heart skip a beat regardless. What she found had filled her with a cold rage she had not felt in a long time. She felt angry at Steve, for letting his heart get in the way of his duty, but most importantly, she felt angry at herself. Closing her laptop with a snap, she chastised herself once again for letting Steve make the call on when to tell Tony about those damn videos, this could have been avoided if Steve had trusted Tony with that information in the first place.

But the time for regrets had long passed, she had chosen Steve over Stark, and even though she still believed it had been for the best, she couldn’t help but feel sickened by how Tony had so blatantly been discarded in favor of Steve’s friend. She tried very hard not to listen to that small part of herself that told her that it could have been her, that she could have been as easily discarded by Steve as Tony had been if she had remained opposed to the captain, and she heated how weak she was for being so sentimental. She had tasted what being part of a family felt like, and she wasn’t sure she could ever go back to being alone ever again.

But for the most part, she was annoyed and perplexed at the videos themselves. She had no more idea of what had happened to Tony now that she had seen the recordings than she had had before looking at them.

With a heavy sigh she decided to take a break before looking for Steve and Sam. She would definitely need all the help she could get to crack this mystery down the middle, but it would serve no one if she did so whilst still reeling from what she had discovered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and company finally learn what was on those security videos, but the things they discover will trigger a chain of events none of them could have predicted.

Steve felt his throat constrict. He knew he was compulsively clenching his fists, but he couldn’t stop. He felt nauseous and overwhelmed, but he tried his best to keep listening to what was being said to him.

“This is the last frame where we can see him, after this shot, he disappears from the camera’s view”

Sam, Natasha and Steve had been going over the bunker videos Natasha had obtained. But Steve soon found out he was not ready to re-watch the events of that day. His vision had started to go blurry the moment the video showed him, Bucky and Tony standing inside the abandoned base.

Sam had been transfixed by the scenes unfolding before his eyes. He could pinpoint the exact moment Tony connected the murder of his parents with the man standing right next to him. His training as a counselor let him see all the tale tales of a PTSD victim in Tony Stark. The chain of events had been painful to watch. He knew Tony had been in shock when he had attacked Bucky, but he was appalled by the way Steve had intervened. Steve had antagonized Stark in an instant, escalating the fight in mere seconds. He knew the Captain had been hard pressed to react in a way that would save his friend from Stark’s ire, but he was convinced there ought to have been an alternative to the way things progressed.

For her part, Natasha had been impressed by the sheer violence of the fight, and even more so with what she had discovered of Tony. The man had seemed unwilling to use any sort of deadly force on either man, and it was only when his arc reactor had been compromised that he had lashed out with enough force to destroy the Winter Soldier’s metal arm. She had also been impressed by Steve’s lack of restrain. Those last few blows to Tony’s suit had been merciless.

The last part of the video had been the most frustrating to watch for the three of them. The camera that had been placed in that room had only captured that final fight partially, with Tony, Bucky and Steve appearing and disappearing from the video at random intervals, until the last thing they could see was Tony on the bottom right corner of the screen, receiving blow after blow to his chest plate, destroying the reactor.

 Steve’s face had been hidden from view, and if anyone else had seen the video, they would not have believed it was Captain America the one slamming Iron Man to the floor with such raw violence, even Steve had a hard time recognizing himself in those last few frames. The sound of a metal shield resonating in the video brought Steve to that moment, he could still feel the phantom weight of his shield on his hands, the intensity of his swirling emotions whilst he delivered blow after blow on the armor.

 Blinking back his memories, he tried to focus all his attention back to the recording, he could no longer see himself in the frame, but he knew the sound he had heard meant he and Bucky had left the building, leaving Tony behind.

Steve held his breath as he watched what had happened next. They saw how Tony had tried to incorporate himself several times, before collapsing helplessly on the floor, unmoving, his hitched breath indicating the man was struggling to breath. After a while, Tony had crawled over in the direction were Steve and Bucky had exited the room, disappearing from the camera’s view, revealing a large pool of blood were Tony’s suit had been moments before. The sound of metal scrapping metal indicated that Tony had collapsed on top of Steve’s metal shield, but for several more minutes nothing else could be seen or heard.

 Steve’s anxiety was growing by the minute, what had happened? Where had Tony gone? Had he somehow managed to crawl himself out of the facility? He was about to ask Natasha when he saw a bright light coming from where he could only assume Tony’s unmoving body had collapsed. 

The sudden change of brightness had distorted the quality of the video for an instant, but after those couple of seconds the scene on the video restored itself, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

“What was that?!” Steve asked perplexedly, he couldn’t comprehend what that light had been.

“‘THAT’ seems to be the way Tony escaped from that bunker” said Natasha with a tired voice.

  

 

* * *

 

 

  

“What were you thinking Steve?” Came Sam’s voice, barely over a whisper. 

Steve sat there, not taking his eyes away from the screen of the computer where they had just seen Tony disappear. Sam felt a sudden hatred for the man, for himself, for this whole mess they were all in.

“Steve, all this time, I thought you and Stark had fought because of the Accords, because he had refused to stand down, because he still believed Barnes was a threat as the Winter Soldier, I don’t know, I guess I even thought it had been because he was being a jerk or something… but now?!” Sam had stood up from his chair, a look of disbelief on his face “Steve, I just witnessed a man learn of their parents’ death at the hands of an assassin, while said assassin was standing right next to him. And to top it all off, he learnt that he had been lied to by a person he trusted, someone he considered a friend!”

“I… Sam, I know it looked bad, but I had no other choice at the time” Steve said with pleading eyes.

 “No Steve, it didn’t only look bad, it was brutal!” he took a deep breath, trying to control his outburst “I’m mad Steve, because I just saw an incredible injustice done to a man I once respected, a man I went against by following you, a man that could be dead, and I’m starting to feel it might also be on me whatever happened to him”

Steve was taken aback by that “What are you talking about Sam?”

“I’m talking about the fact that I was the one who told Tony where to find you Steve! I knew the plan; you and Bucky would search that bunker for more Winter Soldiers. I was so sure Zemo would use them against you and that you needed all the backup you could get... and then Tony came to the raft. He told me he knew Bucky was innocent… damnit, he wanted to help you Steve!! And I feel like I sent him to his death by disclosing your location”

Steve went silent for a moment. He had been wondering how Tony had found them in Siberia, but he had let it slide considering the avalanche of events that had taken place ever since.

“I… none of this was your fault Sam… I, it was all on me. If I hadn’t kept the truth from Tony…” 

Sam couldn’t talk, he was too mad, too emotional to think straight, he knew he needed to keep his temper under control, least he said something he would later regret “I need some air” he said finally, turning his back on Steve and Natasha and stepping out of the room.

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

Sam left the room in a hurry, with Steve hot on his heels, but Natasha stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

 “Let him go, he needs to cool down”

It looked like Steve wanted to protest but decided against it. Turning back to the computer, he sat back down heavily on his chair.

“What do you think?” he asked her, looking back at the frozen image on the video, where the bright light that seemed to be the answer to this mystery taunted him.

“About the video? I think Tony managed to escape from that bunker, but it’s still unclear if someone helped him or if he managed it by himself, although we can’t discard other possibilities”

“You think something else could have happened? Do you think someone took him against his will?”

She gave him a small nod “Tony was in a compromised condition; his weakened state could’ve made it very easy for anyone to take advantage of the situation”

With a heavy sigh he closed his eyes, unwilling to let his fears run wild. Turning his head back to her, he cleared his throat “and what do you think about what Sam said?”

“I think he has every right to be mad. You’ve kept a lot of things from us Steve. I’ve known about the Stark’s videos for a long time, I knew they had been the reason for your fallout with Tony, but you kept that information from everyone else. Sam has been blindly following you, not questioning you once, but if you want that to continue, you have to trust him, trust US. A team that cannot trust its members is doomed to fail”

She had made her peace with her role on the Avenger’s breakup a long time ago. In her line of work, you couldn’t have the luxury of growing a conscience, but she was not yet so far gone that she couldn’t differentiate right from wrong, and she knew they had all wronged Tony. She knew what keeping secrets entailed and how soul crushing it could be, she was an expert in that regard after all. But there was no other way, Steve had to learn not to let his heart choose for him in the battlefield, he could not let the whole world burn down because of his personal beliefs, he had to learn to compromise once in a while.

“Think about it, Steve” she said turning for the door, leaving Steve to ponder on what they had told him. She opted to go looking for Sam, the man would no doubt be needing someone to keep him company.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Natasha found Sam on the roof of the apartment complex they were staying at. He was taking some fresh air, looking at the bright colors of the evening sky.

“Sam, are you ok?”

The man closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

“Yeah, I’m ok Nat, thanks”

Climbing the railing the man was propped against, she sat down next to him with practiced ease, both watching the sunset in companionable silence. They stayed there for a while, watching the sky turn colors, from red to pink to dark blue, until Sam finally let out another deep sigh.

“I always thought I understood Steve, you know?”

Natasha said nothing, letting the man vent his frustrations.

“As ridiculous as it may sound I… I always thought Steve was a paragon of truth, of justice. Ever since I met him, I’ve been following him with the belief that we can make a difference, that our work is for the people, to save lives in one way or another. I’m not naïve, I know Steve is only human, with flaws like everyone else, but he just… he always seemed larger than life, all the time”

Putting a hand through his short buzz hair he fell silent, turning to look at the night sky, trying to find his answers there.

“But today, you saw something different, a side of him you had never seen before” said Natasha knowingly. She understood what Sam was going through. She had never been as awestruck as he had been with Steve, but even she had been pulled to the man by some indescribable force, something about him compelled people to do their best, to constantly look for his approval, and she had not been the exception. But it was so easy to forget Steve was still a kid in some ways, too young and inexperienced outside the battlefield that it made her question everyone’s sanity, including her own, for following him unquestioningly.

“I… yes. I didn’t like what I saw today. I sat there watching how a man I worked with, a man I respected, was beaten down by two enhanced individuals. I saw how he was lied to, and how Steve somehow expected the man to be rational about it all”

“And this thing we’re doing, looking for Stark? It’s Steve looking for Bucky all over again Natasha!” 

Taking a deep breath, he tried to control his emotions. “I’ve been reading this Stark’s bill everyone is going on about. I’m mad that Stark didn’t tell us about the modifications to the Accords he had rallied for, I know he explained them to us, but he never told us just how bad they were, or how bad they could be. And even if I'm mad that he withheld that information, I can’t help feeling we should have trusted Tony, we ought to have known the man wouldn’t throw us to the wolves, that he had shown time and again his compromise to protecting people, to protecting US!... Nat, what we were doing was wrong, entering other countries with our own agendas, not respecting their sovereignty or authority... Stark was right to oppose that!”

Closing his eyes, he continued “I’m disappointed in myself, I let my judgement be influenced by my loyalty to Steve. I knew these accords could be something potentially beneficial to everyone, but I turned my back on them, on Stark, to follow Steve blindly”

Turning his head to look at Natasha, he gave her the saddest smile she had ever seen on him “I just feel so ashamed for what I’ve done. For not saying something sooner. I feel like a coward”

Natasha’s stoic face softened at his words. She knew things had been especially hard for Sam. His loyalty was one of his best assets, and one of his worst defects.  

“You’re a good man Sam” she said, hopping off from the rail shad had been sitting on “But don’t let all of this keep you down. We’ve all done some very questionable things, but we have to live with our decisions. There’s nothing for us to do but try to do better in the future”

Sam looked at her perplexedly, he hadn’t expected a word of comfort from Natasha, but he was greatly thankful for it.

“Thanks Nat”

She huffed in response, “Sure. Now let’s get out of here, it’s getting late”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rogues are falling apart, the mystery of the missing man eluding them at each turn.

A couple of days had passed since Sam, Steve and Natasha had sat down to analyze the Siberian security videos, and the emotions had been running high on the team ever since.

 

Sam was still fuming, he was enraged by this whole mess he was in the middle of. Looking back, if someone had told him a year ago that he would be a fugitive with international charges, and that he would be directly involved in the disappearance of one Anthony Stark, he would have laughed at the absurdity of it. But now, the reality of it all haunted him. With each passing day he questioned his motives to stick with this group of people he now found he had not much in common with. He was far from the days where he knew himself to be a hero, and sometimes he couldn't help but wonder what his mother thought of him now. But he told himself he had to keep going, because as much as he hated to admit it, he knew he at least owed that much to Steve, the man that had plucked him from his ordinary life and had put him in the path to become an Avenger.

Natasha for her part was becoming tired of this entire ordeal. She had no other place to go, so the thought of leaving had not really crossed her mind. But she was becoming increasingly weary; exhausted of following a man that seemed lost himself, of trying to find someone that was probing to be almost impossible to track, and sick to the bone of having to put up with a child-woman that put them all in danger with each of her comings and goings.

But above all, she was tired of their squabbles, of the constant arguing with one another, when they all perfectly knew they needed each other to survive this ordeal. So far, she had been keeping a close eye on both Steve and Sam, worried that another confrontation between them could take place. Fortunately, both seemed to have established a silent truce, averting each other as much as they could.

But as it was their luck, the relative calmness they had achieved was shattered that same morning, when a certain redhead had made her reappearance. Wanda had come back knocking on their front door earlier that day, fresh as could be, as if she hadn't abandoned them for a couple of weeks without a word. And just like that, the balance had been broken once again. 

Wanda seemed to sense the tense atmosphere in the team, but for once, the woman had had the good grace not to comment on it. So far, no one had told the witch about the videos, but there didn't seem to be any need, after all, Wanda hadn't shown a trace of interest on helping them find Tony so far, and none of the others believed that would change anytime soon.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


Putting away his breakfast plates, Sam stood still on the threshold of the kitchen in their small apartment, watching from afar at Steve's barely visible silhouette on the darkened living room, eyes closed in apparent meditation. The man had spent the last two days locked up inside his room, and this was the first Sam had seen of him. He suspected Steve hadn't slept more than a couple of hours the entire time.

Both him and Natasha had started to worry about Steve's behaviour. The man seemed more obsessed than ever to find out what had happened to Tony. He seemed convinced that someone had taken Stark against his will, keeping him in captivity.

Neither Sam nor Natasha were entirely convinced of Steve's theories, but they couldn’t just dismiss the possibility, they all knew Tony had a lot of enemies after all, and with their only evidence a strange glow on a grainy security video, they couldn't discard any options.

That same day Wanda had returned, Steve had seemed to shake off his lethargy and had called them to a meeting, where he had asked them to help him go over a list of Tony’s most prominent enemies. The three had begrudgingly agreed, none of them entirely convinced the task would be fruitful, and after only an hour they had decisted their search. Their records indicated that most of these villains were either dead or imprisoned, leaving the rogues with no real clue as to anyone in particular that could be out for Iron Man's blood.

Refusing to give up, Steve’s next option had been to contact Zemo. This time, Natasha had firmly disagreed, resulting in a heated argument between them. Zemo was being kept in one of Russia's maximum security prisons, and they couldn't risk another international incident, at least not while having so many eyes looking for them, waiting for the slightest error to capture them. But Steve had been unyielding. The only thing the group had managed to make him agree on was that they couldn't contact the terrorist directly.  

So, Natasha had come up with an alternative. Zemo's arrest had gone under the radar for most news media, but not for the UN. The organization had kept a close eye on the russian government, making sure the man was subjected to a closely overseen judicial proceeding, therefore, the whole ordeal would be fully documented. With such a high profile case attracting the attention of so many politicians, it greatly minimized the risk of the russian government trying to deal with the terrorist themselves, and forcing them to share their findings with the rest of the world. This represented the perfect opportunity for the rogues to access this information and learn whether the man had been involved in Tony's disappearance or not.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
Accessing Zemo's files had been both easier and harder than the rogues had anticipated. The man's proceeding was being overlooked by a lot of people in several governments and organizations alike. It had been a matter of hours for Natasha to find a list of UN delegates and other government representatives that were involved in overseeing the investigation. Accessing the actual files, however, had taken considerably longer. 

"I'm done here" said Natasha into her earpiece, putting away her laptop and making sure she was leaving behind no trace of her presence in the office.

Natasha had opted to infiltrate a UN ambassador's office based in New York. The place lacked any sort of high tech security measures, making it the ideal place to gain access to the files.

With deft and swift movements Natasha exited the building without being noticed, making her way to the basement parking lot, where Steve was waiting for her in a small and inconspicuous rental car.

Once back in their hiding place, the rogues had begun the tedious work of meticulously looking at each file Natasha had obtained, in the hopes of discovering whatever useful information they could.

Surprisingly, even Wanda had joined in on the efforts, and throughout their research, the rogues had found the authorities had been at a loss as to how a single man had managed to cause the amount of destruction Zemo had achieved, for he was not only responsible for provoking the bombings where dozens of people had lost their lives, he had also managed to discover one of the best kept secrets of the Kremlin: the location of the Siberian Hydra base and the Winter Soldier program.

That alone had opened a pandora box inside the Russian government, who were currently trying to assess just how deeply Hydra had infiltrated inside their ranks.

“Guys, listen to this” Said Sam suddenly, breaking the silence that reigned in the room.

"What did you find?" asked Steve, putting aside the file he had been studying and stepping closer to the man.

"Zemo admits to having some 'blackmail material in case he needed to turn the public’s opinion against the Avengers', he must be referring to the security cameras he planted on the bunker... Let's see, there’s also a list of Zemo’s associates in here"

"That's good! We could go over that list, see if any of them was involved in Tony's disappearance" said Steve with renewed hope.

"Wait" said Wanda with an uncertain voice "I think I found something else..." clearing her throat, she read what was on her folder "Zemo admits that once he realized he had accomplished what he had set out to do, he had tried to commit suicide, and was only prevented from it by the intervention of the enhanced human known as the Black Panther..."

A heavy silence filled the room, everyone's eyes were on Steve. The man had his jaw tightly clenched, processing what Wanda had said.

"Steve... this means Zemo had no other goal than to turn Tony against you. This... this implies he had no other plan. I don't think he's behind Stark's disappearance at all..." Wanda finished with a pitting voice.

"I... he might be lying. He could have planned this, he might know where Tony is..."

Wanda turned to look at Sam and Natasha with incredulous eyes. She could see the others didn't believe Zemo was behind any of this either, and she couldn't comprehend why Steve couldn't just accept it.

"Steve, Stark is gone, why can't you get over it?" she said with an annoyed huff.

A tense silence filled the room.

"No! I can't jut get over it Wanda! Tony could be out there, he could be in trouble, he-"

"He's dead Steve!" she said with an exasperated voice. She was getting tired of this game, of how everyone bent over themselves trying to make Steve feel better, joining him on a ridiculous hunt to find a dead man, and what for? Just to ease Steve's guilty conscience. The man ought to be glad Tony wasn't around anymore, the world should be thankful they didn't have to deal with the likes of Stark any longer.

Steve levelled her with a glowering gaze. He felt his temper rising dangerously at this spoiled brat that only cared about herself. How could he have been so blind? The woman had hated Tony from day one. She had gone to extreme lengths to gain her powers, all in an effort to seek revenge on a man that was no more guilty of her parent's death than anyone on that room. He remembered how Tony had been afraid of her, after Ultron, after she had played with their minds. But Steve had only seen a misguided kid. He had dismissed Tony's warnings, thinking the man was being paranoid. But now, now he could see how blind he had been. Wanda had constantly antagonized Tony, had made them all think of her as a child that could do no wrong. But that was over! Steve should have realized something was amiss the moment she had refused to help them find Tony, she had the power to track down people for god sakes! and yet she refused to help him find the missing man.

Wanda's powers gave her the ability to sense people's thoughts and moods at a subconscious level, and Steve's rage hit her with an unexpected intensity. Taking a step back, her eyes widened in a shocked expression.

"I'm leaving" she said, turning around and making a quick exit through the door.

"Wanda, wait" called Sam with a worried expression. Looking back at the others he saw neither Steve nor Natasha made any effort to try and stop her. Shaking his head he went after the younger woman.

"Steve..." Natasha said with an emotionless voice.

"I'm fine" he said, taking a few steps down the hall towards his room.

"You can't keep making enemies Steve" she said without turning to look at the retrieving man.

Steve stood frozen on the hallway for a few seconds, before reaching for the closed door.

Natasha stood in the middle of the empty room. She could feel how their precarious situation was starting to crumble around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I had a lot of troubles with this one, but I finally managed to get through it, hopefully next ones will go smoother ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha intercepts a call that could give the rogues a clue as to what happened to Tony, meanwhile, Peter is in danger of being dragged into this whole mess.

“Wanda, wait!” Sam jogged to catch up with the fleeing Wanda. The woman had made it to the rooftop of their apartment complex, the cool night air ruffling her long hair.

“It is no use Sam, I am tired of living like this! I will not tolerate someone else trying to force me to do something I don’t want to!”

“But where are you going to go? You know you have to be careful, there’s people out there trying to hurt us”

“I can take care of myself Sam, I’m not a little girl!” she said with a condescending snarl, not stopping to look back at him.

“Well, you could've fooled me, because you’re behaving like a spoilt brat!”

At Sam's words, the woman froze, turning around to pierce him with an enraged glance.

“I am no brat! I could wipe out anyone that comes against me with a single hand” and as if to demonstrate her power, she sent a tendril of red energy to a rusty old pipe laying at Sam's feet, bending it with a simple wave of her hand.

“Your power is not correlated to your maturity Wanda! You ARE a brat, because you don’t care about the consequences of your actions!” Wanda took a menacing step towards Sam, making him backpedal “Look, I’m not trying to start a fight with you, but you can’t just leave, we have to stick together!”

“I don’t have to do ANYTHING you tell me! I am sick and tired of all of you! You do nothing but hide and try to chase ghosts!” she said with irritation, a red glow shining through her eyes “I pity you Sam, you still can’t see the truth, Steve is obsessed with finding a dead man. Vision has told me Stark is no more, you are all fools for playing this game for so long!"

With that, the woman left in a flurry of red mist, cracking the floor beneath her feet  she took to the sky, rapidly disappearing into the night, leaving a shaken Sam behind, a cold sweat running down his spine. Only now did he realize his mistake, he should have never gone after her by himself, the woman was a menace, she could literally do whatever she wanted and there was nothing any of them could do to stop her.

Turning, Sam made his way back, a chill still running down his whole body. As he got to their floor, he saw Natasha having a smoke just outside their apartment, sitting out on the open balcony. He didn’t stop to talk to her, but her voice made him slow his pace.

“You were lucky she didn’t decide to hurt you Sam... you have to be more careful, you can’t always make people see reason”

Feeling no desire to discuss his stupidity, he simply kept walking, closing the door with tremblier hands than he'd like to admit.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A couple of days had gone by since Wanda had left them, and this time her absence felt permanent. Neither Sam nor Natasha were entirely comfortable with the idea of losing the woman out of their sight.

Natasha knew the potential disasters that could stem from letting an unbalanced and powerful being like the Scarlet Witch wander unsupervised and unaccounted for. Sometimes she really missed SHIELD's methods, no doubt Fury would have had several contingency plans for this kind of situations.

Her only comfort was knowing that Vision was apparently keeping the witch in check. She was no fool, they all knew that was where Wanda had been disappearing to, but it also filled her with a deep dread, knowing that two of the most powerful beings on earth were an unstable child-woman and an unexperienced android playing house. This was what kept her up at night, the knowledge that those two were a potential disaster waiting to happen and wondering what they could do to prevent all this from ever blowing up in their faces. 

But she reminded herself, she had bigger problems to worry about. Sam had told her the witch's parting words, how Tony was "no more", and they had discussed what she might have meant by them.

After debating it, they had decided to discuss it with Steve, but far from helping the man accept the very real possibility of Stark's demise, it had seemed to drive him to the edge. The captain's mood had taken a turn for the worse, they could see how he was slowly spiraling into the depths of despair. He had stopped shaving his face, a dark shadow of stubble marring his otherwise sharp features.

Natasha recognized this behavior, she had seen this pattern before, back to the first time Steve had learnt Bucky was alive. She could see all the signs where there, the obsession, the guilt and recrimination, they were all tell tales of Steve's current fractured state of mind.

"Nat, I feel like I might go mad if I don't find him. I need to know he's ok, I need to know he's not dead!" Steve had told her one night with a breathless voice, trying his best not to fall apart in front of her.

She could see the obvious parallels Steve made with Bucky and Tony in his mind. The man projected his own guilt on both men, making it almost impossible for him to overcome his obsessive behavior. A side of her had started to worry they wouldn't get Steve back until they found Tony Stark.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A loud clang was heard in the small kitchen, breaking the relative calmness that had reigned in the small apartment. Natasha stood rooted to the spot in front of her laptop, a toppled over chair behind her. She had a pair of headphones firmly placed over her ears, a stunned expression on her face. She couldn't believe what she had just heard: a phone call with Tony's voice in it.

Natasha had made it a habit of keeping tabs with Pepper and Rhodey, it both helped her be in the loop of any developments in the Avenger's and Accords situation, as well as keeping her informed on the ongoing search for Tony. She had planted a couple of devises on Pepper's office long before any of this mess had started, and long before Tony had been considered MIA for a second time.

So far, neither Rhodey nor Pepper had shown any indicators that they knew where Tony was, until now.

Natasha's bugs had registered a call that had sent her chills. Tony's faint voice had been captured by one of the devices, his message short and cryptic:

"Pepper, you were right. You know what to do, I'll keep in touch"

The call had lasted all of 5 seconds, not nearly enough to track it, but enough to send Natasha's mind reeling. The implications were many, obviously, this meant Tony was alive, and well enough to contact Pepper, which brought forth the question of why they were only hearing from him now, and most importantly, why hadn’t they made public he was alive yet? Natasha's need to get to the bottom of this had been rekindled, and she was determined to find some answers, one way or another.

 

 

* * *

 

Sam found Natasha sitting at the kitchen's table in the middle of the night, completely absorbed in her laptop. He had been having some troubles falling asleep himself and had gone to get a late night snack.

"Hey Nat, you ok?"

Looking away from her computer, Natasha gave him a sharp look.

"I need you to listen to this" she said, taking off her headphones and tossing them to Sam.

"Oookay" he said, awkwardly catching them with his left hand, taking the chair next to hers.

Sam's dubious expression turned to bewilderment.

"Was that Tony? He's alive after all?!" he said, taking off the headphones.

"…I can’t really say. I intercepted this call from Pepper's office, but... I had a feeling something was amiss, so I sat down to analyze the call"

"And? what did you find?"

"It was the tone of Stark's voice" She said, turning back to her computer "On closer examination I discovered it was a synthetized voice"

"What? you mean it wasn't really him?"

"I think someone manipulated a recording or managed to synthetize a sample of his voice. Whichever the case, it definitely wasn't a live voice"

Sam felt overwhelmed, what the hell was all this? what was this mystery? And most importantly, what where they all getting themselves into?

"Are you going to tell Steve?"

Natasha crossed her arms, a dubious expression on her face "I'm not sure, he's been out of it lately, I'm afraid of what this could do to him"

Sam agreed, Steve was under a lot of stress, and any false hope could be devastating for the man "…But we can't keep him in the dark, sooner or later we'll have to tell him" he said after a moment.

Natasha had to agree, but the fact remained that the call had raised red flags in her mind. Whoever this was, she was sure it was trying to impersonate Tony 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Are you sure you can't trace the call?”

Steve's eyes shone with a desperation that made Sam feel bad for the man. In the end they both had decided to let Steve know about the call.

"No, there's no way to tell where the call was made from, the only certain thing is that it wasn't really his voice" she said with no emotion. She felt frustrated. She was starting to feel they were no closer to solving this mystery than they were a month ago.

"We have to tell Pepper, she might be in danger" said Steve pensively. If this was really an impostor, they had to warn her, no matter on what terms they stood, he didn't want something bad to happen to any of Tony's family.

"I don't think she'll appreciate it that we've been keeping her under surveillance" said Natasha with a sarcastic expression. She knew Pepper Potts was not someone to be taken lightly, if the woman even suspected they had had something to do with Tony's disappearance, things would only get exponentially harder for them.

"But we can't keep this from her! We have to at least warn her!" Steve insisted, he couldn't just sit there knowing someone was plotting to impersonate Tony.

Sam, who had been reading the newspaper in the kitchen poked his head from behind the large pages, the headline 'Spider-Man saves family from apartment fire' could be clearly seen on the front page.

"You know, I’ve been thinking" he interrupted the other two "this kid, spider-man, he was very close to Stark, wasn't he?" He said, pointing at the front page "So, don't you think that if Stark IS really back, maybe he has contacted the kid?"

"What makes you say that?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow, grateful for the change of subject. Discussing with an obstinate Steve was like trying to reason with a wall.

"Well, it's just a hunch, but from that message…” said Sam with a pointed look at Natasha’s computer “... we can deduce that SOMEONE has been in contact with Rhodey and Pepper all this time, but it's quite obvious that for whatever reason they haven't let it on. Now listen..." he said, putting down his paper and crossing his arms over the table "think of it this way, if Tony is, by whatever reason, trying to lay low, it would only make sense that Pepper and Rhodey would play along, right? But what if Tony has also been in contact with the spider-kid? I’m betting the kid won’t be such a good liar as the other two. I'm sure that if we asked him directly, we would be able to tell right away if he's hiding something or not"

Steve and Natasha shared a glance. That sounded too much like harassing the kid, but maybe Peter could lead them to some answers, and at this point, Steve was desperate enough to try anything.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve pays Peter a visit, and an unexpected turn of events leave the rogues shaken.

Over the last couple of days Steve had been weighing his options. He had been giving a lot of serious thought to Sam's plan involving the spider kid. Perhaps Tony HAD been in contact with Peter. Maybe the kid was the key to solving all this mess.

Deciding that he wouldn't lose anything by giving the plan a chance, Steve had dedicated the last twenty-two hours to following the kid's movements. Spider-man seemed to be the only active vigilante publicly taking care of the city, and with no other superhero in sight, Peter had taken the responsibility of ensuring the safety of NY's citizens in his own hands, making him an easy target to track.

The youngster had even made the news last night, when he had single handedly stopped a bank robbery. The locals considered him a hero, with many of them calling him Iron Man's successor. The thought brought a painful twinge to Steve's heart, he knew Tony would have been proud of the kid.

Night was rapidly falling over NY, the first stars shining through the clear sky. Steve took advantage of the growing shadows the sunset provided, he was currently hiding over a rooftop in the outskirts of the city. He had located Spider-man near a seemingly abandoned building. He could barely make out the dark figure dangling from the edge of a metal structure. The youngster seemed very interested in investigating the place, but after about an hour of keeping a watchful eye on the building, the kid made his way south and into the city's downtown.

Steve saw with awe how Peter swung from building to building, making some impressive acrobatic maneuvers across the sky. He followed him as closely as he dared, jumping and rolling along the rooftops, trying to keep a safe distance from the kid, until he saw Peter letting go of one of his webs and land graciously on top of another rooftop. Steve hurried his pace, he wanted to catch the kid before he took off again.

As he got closer, he could hear Peter talking to someone he couldn't see.

“No, I know! But I can’t just sit by and wait, I needed to do something, I know I can investigate some more if you would all just trust me…” Peter's voice seemed younger than what Steve recalled. The kid had to be still in high school at least.

“Yeah, I know I made a promise, but I can’t just…” with a heavy sigh the kid kicked a small pebble “...Alright, I’ll be careful, just, don’t tell him anything ok? I don’t want him to worry”

Steve had been inching closer while Peter had been talking, but suddenly, as if sensing his presence, Peter turned around with alarming speed, startling Steve out of his hiding place.

"Cap?" came Peter's uncertain voice, the big white lenses on the kid’s mask focusing on him.

"Hi Peter, I'm sorry I startled you, I came here to talk to you" said Steve stepping out of the shadows, making his waytowards the open space of the rooftop.

"How do you know my name?!" Peter's panicked voice could be heard even through the mask. The kid was visibly freaked out, and Steve chastised himself for his slip.

"That’s not important Peter. But I need to ask you some questions, can I come closer?"

"I... No, stay where you are"

"I’m unarmed Peter, I’m not here to hurt you" he said, taking a tentative step forward.

"Somehow, I doubt you need any kind of weapon to hurt someone Cap" The kid said with a sarcastic voice.

"Peter, I'm here as a friend, believe me. I only want to know what happened to Tony, do you know Peter? Do you know if he’s all right?" he said with as much gentleness as he could, he wanted the kid to trust him. Sam was right, it was obvious the kid was hiding something, he was like a deer caught in the headlights.

At his words something seemed to overcome Peter, the kid took a couple of menacing steps towards Steve but he suddenly halted. Steve could see the kid was almost trembling, like it was taking him some great physical effort to restrain himself, his enhanced hearing helped him make out a faint female voice that was coming from the kid's mask.

"Peter, calm down! remember your promise!"

"But I can't just not do something Karen!" Peter whispered, a tremble in his voice.

"Peter, you'll disappoint him if you do this"

Taking a deep breath, the kid seemed to regain his wits, unclenching his fists and taking a few steps back towards the building’s edge "I don’t know what to tell you Mr. Captain, but I really have to go" He said with a visibly shaking voice, as he took another step and dropped off the side of the building.

"Kid, wait!" Steve ran to the edge, but he could see Peter was gone, his super hearing letting him hear a faint trail of expletives coming from the kid, who was swinging away at great speed. Not wanting to give up, Steve gave him chase. Even with his enhanced abilities, Steve was having a hard time keeping up with the youngster. He followed the kid for several blocks, and just as he thought he had lost the spiderling, a red and blue blurry mass caught his attention. He saw Peter dropping down on an alleyway some meters to his left at great speed.

Making a final superhuman effort, Steve ran at full speed the distance separating him from the gaping whole were Peter had just dropped down, making it to the edge of the building as a bright light illuminated the alleyway bellow him. Steve stood rooted to the spot, glancing down the building as a very bright orange portal opened up right in front of Peter. The kid seemed unfaced, stepping right into it. The portal closed behind him seconds later, leaving no evidence that Peter had ever been there in the first place.

Steve was shocked, he recognized that bright light, that glow, it had been what he had seen in the bunker videos. This was what Tony had used to escape Siberia.

 

 

* * *

 

 

  

"Are you sure it was the same light?" said Natasha with a frown.

"Yes! I’m sure! It was a portal!!" Steve said exasperatedly. His mind was reeling with what he had just witnessed.

"Did the kid have some kind of devise that created it? Did you see anyone else with him?"

"I...no, I was too far away to see how the kid opened it, but he was alone on that alley, I went down there. There was nothing, no marks or any other sign that the kid had been there at all"

"Guys" Sam called from down the living room, but Steve and Natasha didn't seem to hear him.

"Maybe we can find if there were any security cameras around, anything that could give us any idea of what happened in that alley" said Natasha, getting her hands on her computer.

"Guys" Sam called again, to no avail.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan Nat, maybe we ca-" 

"GUYS!" Sam finally popped his head inside the kitchen where the other two were discussing "YOU.HAVE.TO.SEE.THIS!"

‘This’ turned out to be a press conference with the last person they had expected to see at the center of it. Tony Stark himself was standing behind a podium with several microphones attached to it, wearing his trademark glasses and a designer suit framing his body. Sam would have found both Natasha and Steve's dumb smacked looks hilarious, if he wasn't so shocked with the news himself.

"Mr. Stark, can you tell us anything about your disappearance?" "Is it true you were being held hostage by another terrorist group?" "Tony, can you talk about the rumors that you spent some time in outer space?"

Question after question was fired upon the man, who seemed uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn, a stark contrast to his usual boisterous and confident self in the presence of the cameras.

“The news of my demise was greatly exaggerated", he said with a hollow voice "I was taking some time off due to some medical problems, from which I am currently recovering"

"Mr. Stark, can you give us some more information regarding your current health?" "Mr. Sta-"

"I have an announcement to make" The man said, halting the reporters in their incessant inquiring "I have decided not to take part in any more superhero activities for the time being. I will focus my attention into regaining my full health. Furthermore, I will take the reins of my company once again. As the head of Stark Industries, I would like to announce the re-opening of SI's 'Innovative Research' branch, effective immediately"

"Mr. Stark, what does this mean for the people? will you no longer keep watch over them?" "Mr. Stark, does this mean the Avengers are officially over?"     

"That would be all, no more questions, thank you!" said a heavy-set bald man, nudging Tony out of the stage, promptly ending the press conference. 

The explosion of camera flashes and shouts from the reporters trying to get one last question in filled the now empty stage.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha stumbles upon some clues, but things don’t go as smoothly as she had planned.

Tony was back.  

Steve still couldn't believe his eyes. He had spent so long trying to find the man, and here he was on tv, answering questions from reporters that were as eager as he was to know where Tony had been. He didn't know if he wanted to cry or to laugh at the irony of it all.

A loaded silence filled the room as Sam turned off the TV. They were all shocked.

"Was he hiding all this time?" Sam said with a disbelieving face.

"I can't believe we couldn't find any traces of him..." said Natasha almost to herself, she'd been so sure they were still far from solving Stark's mysterious disappearance, that it all felt incredibly anticlimactic.

"He's alive!" whispered Steve with an awed expression, like all his prayers had been answered.

"I…I think something was wrong with him" said Sam as an afterthought "I've never seen Tony so... I don't know, expressionless I guess?"

"Yeah, I noticed that too. He also looked too pale, too thin" Natasha agreed with Sam's assessment, something seemed off with Tony.

"What? I... I didn't notice any of that" Steve had been so relieved to see Tony again that he hadn't really paid much attention to anything else.

"Something else is bothering me, Pepper wasn't there" Natasha said after a moment.

"I... she wasn't?" asked Sam.

"Neither was Rhodey" she answered with a frown.

"Wasn't Rhodey in the hospital still?"

"No, he's been out for a couple weeks now. Don't you think they ought to have been right there with Tony when he announced to the world he was back from the dead?"

"And who was that guy? I've never seen him around before" asked Steve, now that Sam and Natasha had mentioned it, it WAS very strange that neither Rhodey nor Pepper were there with Tony.

"Maybe he was some assistant or something, he seemed glued to Tony though" said Sam, he felt an uneasy feeling, like his relief of seeing Tony again was being undermined by the oddity of the scene they had just seen.

Both Steve and Sam where taken aback when Natasha hastily stood up from her seat, leaving out the front doorwithout saying another word.

A storm could be heard rumbling outside the apartmentwindows, the distant thunders brightening the dark sky.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

  

 

A heavy rain had started to fall upon the city as Natasha made her way to SI headquarters. The bright light of a thunder illuminated the deserted street for a moment, giving her a glimpse of the building's unguarded back entrance.

Getting her gear ready she exited the car, using the rain's mantle to cover the sound of her steps. She entered the building without too many difficulties, heading straight for the top floor and straight to Pepper's office.

Natasha had a hunch, she knew whatever was happening with Tony, Pepper would be the one to go to for some answers. The phone call, the radio silence the woman had kept about Tony, it was all related, Natasha just needed that one final piece of the puzzle to make sense of this mystery.

As she made her way to the last floor, she was greeted by an utter silence in the place. She knew Pepper was still inside, she had checked before leaving the apartment, but the stillness was unnerving her.

With light steps she crossed the main hallway in the direction of Pepper's office, as she reached the large oak doors, she could see a silver of light reflected on the floor. The doors were slightly ajar, and she could hear voices coming from beyond the threshold.

With extreme caution she approached the door, where she could make out Pepper sitting behind her desk, and a tall man standing in the middle of the room, his back towards the door. The man was clad in an eccentric attire that included a bright red cape and he was hurriedly talking to Pepper.

"You saw the press conference, we've run out of time Pepper"

"Stephen, I can't believe it's come to this! How did it happen? How did we miss this?"

"Believe me, we were as shocked as you when we heard the news. This means only one thing"

"I know, but how are we going to deal with this? He’s already gone public! How are we going to stop him?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it, but we must go, now, he'll be here any minute now"

Pepper seemed to take a moment to gather her wits about her, letting out a slow breath as she looked at the man. "Ok, I'm ready, let's go"

With a small nod, the man made a couple of circular movements with his arms, and a bright orange portal suddenly opened inside the room. Natasha barely had time to contain the gasp that threatened to escape her. The last thing she saw was the man's face as he took a last look around the office and stepped into the portal, which promptly disappeared a moment later behind him.

 

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Steve and Sam had been perplexed by Natasha's departure, but their concern was still firmly lodged on the press conference they had just seen.

"I can't believe he's back, where do you think he was?" asked Steve, rubbing at his tired eyes with both hands.

"I have no idea, but I feel like strangling the man! I can't believe he would have us believe he was missing!" sad Sam half-jokingly. If he were completely honest with himself, he felt incredibly relieved that the man had turned up safe and sound.

"I need to talk to him" said Steve suddenly, seemingly making up his mind and walking towards the door.

"Steve, wait for me!" Startled, Sam barely managed to grab a jacket and a black bag, before following through the door Steve had disappeared through.

Both men arrived at the Avenger's compound amidst a heavy thunderstorm, the rain making it hard to see through their windshield. Taking a couple of minutes to examine the property, Steve soon realized that the place lacked the heavy security it had once had, with only a couple of guards now posted at its entrance.

Using the rain as a cover, both Sam and Steve decided to bypass the security booth, and jump the perimeter wall, reaching one of the compounds lateral entrances. Once there, they decided to try their old security codes. Surprisingly, the codes still worked, letting both men in without any problems.

A sudden chill that had nothing to do with the rain filled Steve. The place was completely empty, not a soul in sight. He hadn't exactly been expecting a party, but he thought maybe Tony would have been back already. Instead, the dark and empty hallways echoed with their footsteps, with no other sound other than the rain hitting the large windows.

"I think something's wrong" said Sam in a low whisper.

"What is it?" Asked Steve absentmindedly, making his way to the common room.

"Where's FRIDAY? why isn't she here?"

Steve stood frozen at the remark, he knew what Sam meant with FRIDAY not being 'here'. It was apparent the AI hadn't been reactivated yet, and the realization raised red flags inside his head.

Steve made a run for it, trying to get to Tony's room, racing through the many empty hallways, Sam hot on his heels.

He dashed into the east wing, where the living quarters where. Making his way to the end of the hall he saw Tony's room. With quick movements he opened the handsome wooden doors only to find the place empty. His heart beat like crazy, he didn't know what he had been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been this.

"Steve, stop! This place... this place hasn't been lived in in a while man, I don't know how long Tony's been back, but he definitely hasn't been anywhere near the compound, that's for sure!"

With a heavy heart, Steve realized Sam was right, none of this felt right, it made no sense that Tony hadn't been to his own home yet, nor that he hadn't activated FRIDAY.

Turning around, Sam made his way back to the hallway, where he opened the black bag he'd been carrying, placing a small devise near an air conduct.

"What are you doing Sam?"

"I grabbed some of Natasha's bugs. I don't know about you, but I want to get to the bottom of this, and I think this might help us. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep an eye on things here, don't you think?"

Feeling conflicted with himself, he decided that Sam was right, if they wanted to get some answers, they needed to start looking for them. They made quick work of hiding the bugs around the compound, taking especial care to put one in Tony's lab, after all, Steve figured that if Tony decided to drop by, that would be the one place he would surely not miss.

 

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha recognized the man Pepper had left with as Stephen Strange. The ex-neurosurgeon whom Tony had sent a message before FRIDAY went offline.

She was certain now of who had made the portal Tony had used to escape. But this new piece of information did nothing but expand the mystery.

She was on the verge of entering Pepper's empty office when a sound made her turn around. The elevator on the far side of the floor had activated, indicating someone was making their way up. Deciding not to take any chances, she retreated, making a swift escape as the elevator doors opened, spilling its light on the darkened hallway.

She could hear a couple of voices and she stood still for a moment, she thought she had recognized Tony's voice. Turning around, she made her way back, retracing her steps until she was back outside Pepper's office.

This time, the office doors had been thrown wide open. Inside she could make out several men, Tony included. The scene was a curious one. Tony and a bald man Natasha recognized from the press conference were surrounded by an escort of heavily armed men.

The bodyguards seemed to relax at a signal from the short man, who was going through Peppers desk, desperatelylooking for something, while Tony sat down on a large couch.

Natasha quickly made up her mind, this was her chance to get some answers.

Stepping out from her hiding place, she treaded into the light that was pouring into the hallway, making sure to make one of the large wooden doors creak as she stepped into the room, giving the men there enough warning of her presence.

"Tony, long time no see"

All set of eyes settled on her in unison except for Tony's, who currently had his head thrown back against the couch's headrest. As if one, the armed men pointed their weapons at her. She didn't even blink at the guns.

"Miss, I don't know who you are, but you should not be here" said a nasal voice from her right. The bald man took a step back from Pepper's desk, letting a stack of papers fall on top of it "I suggest you leave immediately"

"And you are, Mr...?" Natasha asked sweetly, trying to gain some time, Tony still hadn't looked her way.

"You can call me Dr. Tarleton sweet heart, but now please, get out" he said, his eyes seemingly shining with something akin to comprehension.

"Tony, aren't you going to talk to me? I've been looking all over for you" She said in a sickly mellow voice, trying to get a rise out of the man, and it seemed to work. Tony very slowly lifted his head from its resting position until his chin touched his chest, directing her a dark look.

"I'm busy right now widow, leave" He said with a detached tone. Up close Natasha could see the man was not well, his skin looked too pale, several abrasions were visible on the man's neck and face, expertly concealed with some make up. Natasha instantly knew something was very wrong.

"Tony, we need to talk, privately" she urged.

Tony simply looked at her unblinkingly, he then very slowly raised one of his arms, a gun firmly grasped in his hand. He lazily aimed it at Natasha, and for the first time she felt threatened. This was not the Tony she knew, this man in front of her was unpredictable and she could not read him as she had once done.

Dr. Tarleton took advantage of the tense situation, calling the armed men into action.

"Get her!"

With a last look at Tony, Natasha turned around and fled, the men chasing after her.

 

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Steve and Sam made their way back to their apartmentcomplex, the heavy rain had subsided, the wet streets reflecting the city’s lights. As they neared their floor, they found Natasha waiting for them sitting at the top of the stairs, a somber expression firmly on her face.

"I found something, we need to talk"


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected turn of events leave the rogues desperate for some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear god, all your guesses, predictions and theories are so good you guys!! You've all made me realize all the different ways this story could have gone, THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT!!!

The clear water on the bowl was rapidly turning red with each new gauze deposited in it. Natasha let out a soft hiss, wincing slightly against her will.

"Sorry" said Sam with a worried expression, trying to clean the wound as carefully as he could.

"It's ok, I'm pretty sure that was the last one" she said with a hoarse voice.

Natasha had managed to escape Pepper's office with only some superficial gun wounds, and Sam was helping her bandage the ones she hadn't been able to reach herself, while Steve went out and tried to find a new hiding place. There was a real chance that Tony's goons could come chasing after them, and they couldn't take that risk.

"You're sure the portal guy was that doctor?" Sam asked again, he was still having trouble wrapping his head around the idea of Tony being back and looking for revenge apparently.

"Yes, I saw his face clearly"

"So, Pepper is obviously involved with him, but why would they run from Tony? You think Pepper is cheating on him or something?"

Natasha made a non-committal sound, she doubted Pepper and Strange were in a relationship, but that only complicated things, because otherwise why would they escape from Tony like that? She thought Tony's return would have put an end to all the mysteries surrounding him, but it only served to fuel them further.

One hour later they received Steve's call, he had secured a couple of motel rooms on the other side of town. Once relocated they had finally sat down to discuss the night's events.

"So, these are the facts we know so far" said Sam, recapitulating their current situation "Tony is back, he looks like hell and isn't exactly thrilled to see us, and will send armed gorillas after us if we so much as come near him. He's taking over SI, apparently overthrowing Pepper. And Pepper escaped through a portal with whom we now know is Stephen Strange. The same man that apparently rescued Tony from Siberia. The avenger's compound is empty, and FRIDAY hasn't been activated yet. Is that all?" he asked sarcastically, none of this mess made any sense.

With a heavy sigh, Steve let his head fall on his arms, a pained expression on his face "Yeah, pretty much" with each new answer they found, twenty new questions surfaced, it was like a never-ending game.

"What do you want to do?" Asked Natasha while tending to another scratch on her wrist.

"I... I don't know. There's something definitely wrong with Tony, we have to get to the bottom of all this" he took a deep breath, before continuing "We'll wait a couple of days to see how things pan out, then we'll contact Tony again"

Both Sam and Natasha shared a surprised glance. They had both thought Steve would stop at nothing to talk to Stark, but apparently, the man was finally regaining some sense, after all, laying low for a couple of days seemed their best option, and it would give them enough time before deciding on a new plan of action.

  

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

That same night, a muffled thumping sound woke Steve up, he quickly realized it was someone calling at his door. With a heavy sigh he got up, discovering Sam on the other side of his door, a shocked look on his face.

"What is it Sam, is everything ok?"

"Steve, we found something, come with me" With that cryptic reply, Steve followed the man down the hall and into the kitchen, where Natasha sat with an astonished face.

"Steve"

Steve had never heard so much emotion in Natasha’s voice. He instantly knew something was wrong

"What is it? what happened?!" Fear and anxiety quickly raising inside him.

Without saying another word, Natasha turned her laptop to him, showing him some videos from a security camera. It took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing. They were images of the compound, probably from the bugs him and Sam had put up earlier that day.

He saw Tony entering the building, accompanied by a groupof armed men and a fat bald guy closely following behind Tony.

They went directly into Tony's lab, where the bald guy promptly sat down on one of the consoles, apparently trying to make it work, only to have Tony come over and, with a movement of his hand, bring the entire lab back to life. The ceiling lights suddenly lighted up, as did the several computers that could be seen around them.

None of this made sense to Steve, what was Tony doing with those men? He noted that the bald man was obviously familiar with some of the equipment, a scientist of sorts apparently.

"What is that guy doing there? Who is he?" asked Steve.

"He's Dr. George Tarleton, he's the head scientist of SI's Innovative Research" Natasha answered him.

"What is Tony doing with him?"

But Natasha didn't bother to answer this time. Steve was about to ask again when something on the video caught his attention.

An orange light had flared inside the lab, a portal suddenly opened right in the middle of the room. A bright blue flash fired trough, hitting Tony square in the chest before the man could react. A black clad figure stepped out, followed closely by Stephen Strange.

Steve couldn't suppress the gasp that escaped his lips. He almost hadn't register when Tony fell to the ground, smoke coming out of his chest.

Everything happened very fast. The armed men took aim at the newcomers, opening fire at them, but the intruders where faster. Strange did some hand movements and seconds later, the men's guns had dissolved into a flurry of butterflies, the black figure had rapidly made its way to the collapsed Tony, dragging him through the portal, while Strange took care of the rest of the men.

The guards had been subdued, tied together with a bright orange rope. The bald man, the only one that hadn't taken part in the fight, seemed to come to his senses, making a run for it. In a second Strange opened a portal right in front of the fleeing man, the later couldn't stop his momentum, stumbling right into the bright light, disappearing the next instant along with the portal.

Opening another portal Strange vanished the remaining men, disappearing alongside them in a bright flash of light.

 

 

  

* * *

 

 

 

 

Steve felt like his entire world was crumbling down. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. He'd only just gotten Tony back! This wasn't fair! After all they'd been through, he hadn't been able to talk to Tony, he hadn't been there to save him.

Sam and Natasha had shown him the analysis they had made of the video. Showing him an enlarged picture with the exact moment Tony had been hit with the blast from the portal.

"By the reading of the energy fluctuation of the blast, we can deduce it came from a repulsor based weapon" Natasha told him.

"The blast went right through him. There's no doubt Steve, Tony is dead" Sam said with as much gentleness as he could muster.

"We were also able to isolate the black clad figure" Natasha said, as he showed Steve an image with several readings and stats on it of the unknown individual.

"We managed to calculate it's height and relative weight... there's an 80% chance the individual was a woman"

A long silence filled the room, Steve didn't dare say anything out loud, least he made it real by acknowledging it. In the end, he couldn't deny it any longer.

"Pepper" he sighted.

Sam and Natasha both nodded in unison.

Steve guessed it made sense in a horrible and twisted way. She had been last seen escaping with Strange, and according to Natasha's intel, Tony had at least planned to give Pepper her own armor at some point, if he hadn't already done so. If nothing else, she would have been the only one capable of accessing Tony's technology without problems or arising any suspicions. But the question remained, why? Why would Pepper do something so heinous? And if not Pepper, then who?

Steve's head was spinning, he needed to do something, least the rage and despair consumed him. With shaking legs, he stood up from the chair.

"I need some air" was all he managed to say before going out through the door.

Natasha stood from her chair and looked out their window, she could see the Captain had sat down back at the edge of the motel swimming pool, his hands covering his head.

With a sight she went back to her place next to Sam, looking at the frozen image of a collapsing Tony.

"Natasha, what the hell is all this? What's going on?!" 

Natasha felt as lost as Sam looked. She had no idea what Tony had been involved in, everything about this was a complete mess.

"There's only one person who's been involved in this from the very beginning" she said finally.

Sam looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Stephen Strange? You think you can find him?"

With a firm nod she stood up. She was pretty sure she knew where she could start looking for the man.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rogues finally confront Stephen Strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, I’m seriously considering making a bunch of alternative endings with all the suggestions and theories you keep throwing at me! Thank you all for the comments and the general support!

Sam couldn't remember the last time he had had a good night's sleep. He recognized all the signs, his body was crashing, and he knew he would have to get some shut eye soon or risk blacking out right there on the floor.

The last twenty-four hours had been one crazy event after another. They had learnt Tony Stark was alive earlier in the day, only to see the man being murdered that same night. It had been an emotional roller-coaster he hadn't been prepared for, and it only made him wonder what it must have been like for Steve.

He looked back at the slumbering man on the couch. Steve had not taken things well. The man had closed himself up completely, not letting any emotions through. Sam had never seen him like that, he could tell the man was grieving, but this unhealthy way of repressing his feelings was sure to backfire on them all sooner or later. They had all been in a constant state of stress for many weeks and months now, and the man was bound to crack sooner or later.

Steve had finally passed out from exhaustion an hour ago, and Sam was keeping him company. He knew there was nothing he could do to help but stay at Steve's side, he just hoped that after everything was said and done, the man managed to keep himself in one piece.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Natasha sat in front of her computer with a bleak expression, an electric current flowing through her nerves. She was working against the clock, and the urgency to track down Stephen Strange was weighing down on her.

She knew where to find the man, had known for several months now actually, but she had simply not payed enough attention to the signs. She had discovered his location the moment FRIDAY had sent those encrypted messages all those months ago, back when they had first learnt the AI was being deactivated. Natasha had tracked the messages, had located the man in New York, but had not deemed him important enough to investigate him further.

She now recognized her mistake, she now knew he was a key player in all of this, and he was probably the only one that could help them solve this mystery.

"Bingo" she said with a smirk. The computer showed her the results. Stephen Strange’s face was visible on the screen, next to a map of New York with a circumference of several kilometers painted on it. At the center of the map, a single address: 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"He's a wizard? What do you mean by that?" Sam asked in a hushed tone, trying not to sound too alarmed.

He had come looking for Natasha, finding the woman sitting on the edge of the rooftop with a closed look on her face.

Natasha was surprised Sam seemed to be able to pick up whenever she was in a bad mood, she guessed spending so many months together on the run was finally wearing some of her walls down.

"A sorcerer Sam, and I meant exactly what I said. I'm guessing he's an enhanced, like Wanda. There's really not much information regarding this 'organization' he leads"

"Sanctum Sanctorum" Sam repeated the name with some difficulty "So that's the place where he’s been hiding? What are we waiting for? We have to find him!"

"We can't rush in without knowing what his powers are. If he really is an enhanced, we might need some help"

Sam seemed to mull this over for a moment "You want to contact Wanda? You think she'll help us?"

Natasha kept silent for a long time. Sam was almost sure the woman wouldn’t answer him, when she finally left out a long breath.

“We’re in serios problems Sam”

Her honest voice made his heart race, Natasha almost never let any sort of emotion come through her voice, but this, this was different.

“What do you mean Nat? What’s wrong?”

“Wanda has disappeared, I haven’t been able to find her”

“She’s disappeared before, I’m sure we could look for her together…”

“You don’t understand, I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since she walked away, trying to make sure she’s not causing any troubles. Until a week ago, she was still with Vision” she said with a frown, trying very hard not to let her exasperation show “As soon as I found out Strange was a sorcerer, I tried to contact her, get her to help us, but I couldn’t find her. It’s like she simply vanished”

“What?! Are you sure?” Natasha’s glare made him backpedal, of curse she was sure, Natasha wasn’t known for doing sloppy jobs after all “Right… but what about Vision, has he also disappeared?”

Natasha shook her head “I located Vision two days ago, he seemed to be en route to Wakanda, with no visible signs of Wanda at his side”

“Fuck…” This was not good, they couldn’t afford to lose track of Wanda that way, they all knew the woman was a menace. So far, they had tacitly been counting on Vision to keep the witch in check, but now…

Sam let out a long sigh, things did not look good for them right now “So, without Wanda, we don’t have any other options against Strange” he said, suddenly getting the enormity of their predicament.

Natasha simply nodded without saying another word. They were screwed, she just hoped they could convince Steve to wait long enough for them to find a suitable alternative before confronting Strange.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The blinding rage Steve felt was overwhelming. His world had been turned upside down in a minute. He couldn't believe Tony was dead. Had it really been Pepper on that video? But why? Had it been a lover's quarrel? Or something much more sinister was at play? Hundredths of questions invaded his head, but amongst them all, a single thought consumed him, the knowledge that Stephen Strange was somehow behind all this.

The mere idea that anyone from Tony's close inner circle of friends had betrayed him like that baffled Steve. The hypocrisy of his recriminations flew over the Captain's head, too immersed on his own pain to see that it wouldn't have been the first time someone close to Tony had stabbed him in the back.

“Steve, we can’t go into this blind, we need to know what we’re going against” They’d been at it for a while, Natasha trying to convince him of biding their time before facing Strange. But Steve would not listen to any argument, he knew what he needed to do, and he was starting to get irritated by the time they were wasting.

“We’re not going in blind, you already know he’s an enhanced, it’s three against one, we’ll find a way to make him confess what he did to Tony’s body” he said with aplomb, tired of having this same conversation over and over again.

“We don’t know if he’s alone, and even if he were, we don’t know what his powers are, he could be as strong as Wanda or Vision, or have some other powers we can’t fathom” said Sam, trying, in vain, to get through Steve’s thick head.

“I’m doing this, and that’s final. Now, are you with me or not?” He said annoyed, he wasn’t going to waste any more time talking in circles, he would avenge Tony’s death, one way or another.

Sharing an irritated glance, Sam and Natasha gave up. They knew how Steve’s one-track mind worked, he would take it as a personal affront if they didn’t 100% backed him up andwould most likely try to do things his way with or without their help.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Two days later the rogues had relocated into a small apartment right in front of the Sanctum Sanctorum, doing intense surveillance work. The antique looking building with a peculiar circular window visible at its top was as mysterious as its inhabitants. So far neither of the three rogues had managed to see anyone coming or going from the place, but there seemed to be clear signs that the building was inhabited.

With each passing hour Steve’s resolve grew stronger, and it had become increasingly harder for Sam and Natasha to convince him to wait for the right moment to attack.

Steve had his hands closed in tight fists, knuckles white and nails digging into his palms. He felt a restless energy thrum through him, making it almost impossible to concentrate on anything but getting his revenge. He’d been monitoring the Sanctum’s front when a slim redhead figure approached the place from seemingly out of nowhere, making her way through the main doors.

Steve immediately recognized her, it was Pepper. He took her appearance as some sort of sign, getting up from his seat and sprinting for the door, intent on going after her. Sam and Natasha reacted in unison, going after the captain with hurried steps.

“Steve! Wait, we can’t go in like that! We need a plan!”

“Rogers! You’ll get us killed” Both Sam and Natasha tried to convince the running man with seemingly no results. Steve was ready to get some answers, and the way he looked at it, it was now or never.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

The building the rogues were rushing at had an ominous feeling to it. Natasha could feel a tingle on her skin, the hairs on the nape of her neck standing on end at a force she could not see but could clearly feel. She was sure the other two also felt it, for both men slowed down their run, becoming more cautious.

With a loud sound of air rushing through a small opening, the building's main doors creaked open, but there was no one on the other side.

With skeptical looks, the rogues silently mediated with each other. A couple of seconds passed, but no one came through the door. Taking a deep breath, Steve moved forward. He knew it could be a trap, but his need to find answers was far greater than his common sense.

The three rogues stepped cautiously into the foyer of the silent building, the door closing by itself with a soft thud behind them. The place had a mystical feel to it, there was no other way to describe it, and it made all of Natasha's mental alarms go off. All her senses screamed for her to get out, but she forced herself to follow Steve, it would serve no one if they split up now.

They heard someone clearing their throat from the other side of the large room, just beside a wide flight of stairs. The rogues saw an imposing figure clad in a red cloak standing in the shadows of the large threshold, looking at them with unimpressed eyes. Natasha felt a sudden rush of fear, had the man been standing there all this time? she hadn't detected him in the least, as if he had appeared out of thin air.

"Strange!" Steve yelled, caught off guard by the sudden presence.

"Hello Captain. We've been expecting you"

“Shit, I knew this was a trap” Sam whispered nervously. He’d known this was a bad idea from the start, and he cursed himself once again for letting Steve drag them all into this mess.

"Well, I'm here now, and I'll make you pay for what you did to Tony!" Steve said trying to taunt the man, his mind whirring to come up with a strategy that would allow them to get the upper hand in all this.

"Make ME pay captain? Oh, please do tell me, what exactly is it that you're accusing me of?"

"We saw you Strange! We saw when you opened that portal into Tony's lab! we saw you killing him"

"Now, did you? Well, perception is a curious thing isn't it? especially when you don't have all your facts straight. Although I would advise you not to do anything stupid" he said, eyeing Natasha with piercing blue eyes, as if reading her mind, for she had been just about to pull out her widow bites in a surprise attack.

Steve must've seen something reflected in Natasha's face, because he signaled for both her and Sam to stand down.

"Why Strange? Why did you do this? Did you force Pepper into helping you?" Steve tried to stall for some time, he needed to assess their situation. He felt they were at a disadvantage even if they were three against one.

"Oh, I assure you Captain, Mrs. Potts was a willing participant in all this. But I'd suggest you don't bring her into this conversation, after all, this is a matter between you and me"

Stephen’s cloak flared in that instant, the sorcerer’s eyes a bright blue, an imposing aura could be felt emanating from the man, the air suddenly thick, making it harder to breath.

As if one, Steve, Natasha and Sam attacked Stephen, trying to take him by surprise. Steve went for a frontal assault, launching a series of blows that Stephen easily dodged, while Sam and Natasha came from the sides, both firing a couple of dart guns against the retreating man.

Stephen's cloak suddenly seemed to come to life, acting as a shield and protecting him from the darts. With a series of rapid hand movements Stephen conjured a blast of wind that sent the rogues flying through the room. Natasha managed to land on her feet, while Sam and Steve tumbled and rolled over from the blast.

Not waiting for Stephen to attack them again, the trio stood up and launched another attack, this time with Natasha pulling out a couple of her guns and firing at Stephen while Sam and Steve ran on opposite directions, trying to ambush Stephen from the sides and the back.

Natasha felt her grip on the gun falter as she saw how each of her bullets was stopped in midair, seemingly without any effort from Stephen's part. A strangled yelp told her Sam and Steve had been subdued. Reaching quickly for her belt she aimed to take a small hand grenade from one of its compartments, she would have to create a big enough distraction to make a run for it. There was no other option, the guy was too powerful, they would have to run and regroup, find another way to take him down.

A startled gasp escaped her lips. She couldn't move, couldn't reach for the grenade, it was as if an invisible force had taken a hold of her.

"You are a dangerous one, I'll deal with you later" Stephen said with a bored face, and with a movement of his hand Natasha disappeared from the foyer.

"Natasha!!!" both Sam and Steve screamed at the now gone woman. There was no trace of her, no clue as to what Strange had done to her.

"You bastard! give her back!!" Screamed Sam, who was pinned to the ground by several golden strings.

"I think I'll also deal with you later" Strange said, not even sparing the struggling Sam a glance, before he too disappeared from the floor.

"Sam! What did you do to him? Bring them both back!" yelled Steve with an enraged face. He was suspended in midair by the red cloak. The material seemed to be made of light steel, for he could not rip it apart no matter how much he thrashed against it. The cloak tightened its hold on him, making it impossible to move.

"Now Captain, I'd suggest you calm down, I'd hate to take any more extreme measures to keep you still" Stephen said with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Strange, you'll never get away with this!"

"And according to you, what exactly am I getting away with captain?"

"Don't fucking play stupid with me Strange! You kn-"

"Steve! Language!" said a voice from atop of the impossibly large staircase.

Steve felt his jaw go slack, his blood rushing to his feet. He would recognize that voice anywhere, but it couldn't be... he was dead.

"Tony" he said in a whisper, looking up and seeing a dark silhouette painted atop the stairs.

"The one and only, Captain"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, there’s only one chapter left, where it’ll be revealed what happened to Tony and how this whole mystery began. I’m also considering doing some quick art for this story, so I’ll probably add that as well. Thanks for keeping an eye on this story and for all your wonderful comments!! I really appreciate them!! Thank you!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is finally revealed, and Steve finally unravels the mystery surrounding Tony’s disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys, here goes nothing.

Steve felt time stand still, he could barely believe what his eyes were seeing. Standing on top of the shadowy staircase was the silhouette of the man he had been looking for months.

"Tony! You're alive!" he said in awe.

"Well... that's one way to put it" the man said, taking a few steps down the stairs.

"But... I saw you being shot, I thought they had killed you!"

"Oh captain, have you been spying on me? Well, rest assured, everything’s fine" He said mockingly, the shadows enclosing him making his face look strangely menacing. Something was off with him, but Steve just couldn't tell what it was.

"What happened Tony? Why did you make us believe you were dead?!"

With a sigh, Tony stepped further down the flight of stairs until he was at eye level with the restrained man.

"You know Rogers, it is pretty contemptuous of you to barge in here demanding answers, I'm really not feeling too inclined to explain myself to you at all"

Some fight seemed to come back to Steve at Tony's words, trashing against the restraining cloak with renewed strength.

"Tony, I thought you were dead!! I... ever since you disappeared from Siberia! I've... I've been looking for you everywhere! You have no idea what we've gone through to find you!!"

Steve's passionate discourse was met with a long silence, followed by a sarcastic laugh "Oh I know you have captain. I’ve known ever since Widow got a hold of those security videos on the bunker"

That caught Steve by surprise "You knew?"

"Of course I knew! Vision found them on his visit to Siberia. We decided to leave the cameras there when he detected you where spying on him. We thought it would be a good way to lure you out of your hiding place. As a matter of fact, every single clue you think you’ve found, we’ve made it happen"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a miniature hologram of the redheaded figure he had seen outside the building materialized in front of them in midair, the slim figure running graciously in place.

Steve's face drained of all color, only to be replaced by ugly red blotches rising from his neck and cheeks and into his ears.

"What are you talking about Tony, did you set us up? How could you?!" Steve spat, the accusation in the man's voice making Tony's blood boil.

"'How could I?!', How could I NOT Rogers? You're a fucking menace!!" Tony said, suddenly right in Steve's face, a dangerous glint reflected in his eyes "You think you're above the fucking law!!! Captain America, symbol of freedom and justice, isn't that right? You think all your calls are the right ones, fuck anyone that stands in your way, eh? Fuck the hundred and plus countries that wanted to make you accountable for your actions, fuck the people you swore to protect and FUCK YOUR OWN TEAMMATES, isn't that how it goes Rogers?!"

Taking a step back, Tony shrugged with a self-deprecatingsmile, visibly trying to get a hold of himself "You know, I have no fucking clue what prompted you to try to find me, when you yourself left me to rot in that bunker in the first place"

Steve recoiled from Tony's offhand comment, his anger rapidly evaporating, leaving behind only guilt and shame. Tripping over his words he tried to talk to Tony, trying to make him understand he had done what he thought was the right thing "I... I'm sorry Tony, I never meant to... You know I had to protect Bucky! I..." He stuttered lamely. Now that he was face to face with the man, he found that he couldn't reasonably justify his actions. The truth was that he had sacrificed the man to save Bucky, and that knowledge weighted heavily on his stomach.  

"You're sorry?" Tony asked with fake surprise "Why would you be? I've always been someone expendable to you, haven't I?" He said while turning to look at Strange, who made Steve levitate closer to them with a movement of his hand "Your very personal bank account. The guy you went to when you needed weapons or an upgrade. The guy to blame when things went wrong" he said with a bitter laugh.

"No Tony, it wasn't like that, you've always been an important part of the team!" he was vexed, annoyed at Tony's accusations. The man had always been a bad team player, he knew he had been hard on Tony exactly for this reason, but it wasn't fair to accuse them, HIM, of things that were entirely Tony's own fault.

"An important part of the team" Tony repeated disbelievingly "Only until I didn't follow you unconditionally. An important part until I questioned your decisions. You didn't want me to keep secrets from you, but you were allowed to keep them from me, wasn't that how you wanted things to work Rogers?"

"I... that’s not true Tony" Steve said weakly, completely aware of the hypocrisy of his own words. Aware that him keeping the truth from Tony had enabled Zemo to so easily break them apart.

"Yeah well, keep telling yourself that Captain, I'm sure if you repeat it enough it'll become true" he said sarcastically, turning away and climbing the stairs back up.

"Tony, wait! tell me what happened to you! Why did you make us all go through so much?" Steve yelled at the retreating man, desperate to understand the answers that danced right in front of him, just out of his reach.

Tony stopped mid step, slowly turning around to face the captain.

"Tony, you don't have to explain anything to him" said a soft voice. Steve belatedly realized Stephen had spoken. The man's warm and concerned voice was a stark contrast to the cold and condescending tone he had used with them before.

Both men shared a glance, having a silent conversation only the two of them could understand. Breaking his gaze away from Strange's, Tony looked at Steve with a condescending smile.

"I know Stephen, but somehow, I feel like the Captain here hasn't really grasped what his actions have caused"

Taking a step back, Tony raised his arm, revealing a metal hand beneath his large hoodie, the movement pushed the jacket partially open, revealing a hint of metal covering part of Tony's torso as well as the man's neck. A small gasp escaped Steve, he could now see what was so different about the man. To Steve, Tony had always moved with a certain elegance that he associated with Tony's rich upbringing, but now... he looked rigid, his movements lacking the finessethey had once had.  

"You see, in a sense, I never really made it out of that bunker Rogers. I went into cardiac arrest ten minutes after you left. Surprising, what a vibranium shield to the sternum can do to a sick heart, eh?"

The revelation left Steve cold, his deepest fears suddenlyconfirmed. Tony HAD suffered extensive damage because of him, done by his own hands. He could hear his blood rushing through his ears, his vision going blurry for an instant. He felt like throwing up. This was all his fault, he was responsible for doing this to a man he had once considered a friend.

"What... what did they do to you?" Steve said with a strangled voice, the pity and horror he felt reflected very clearly on his face.

The reaction was immediate, Steve felt his restrains tighten further still, a hot slash stinging across his right cheek, and suddenly Stephen's enraged face was centimeters away from his.

"We saved him Captain, we put together the pieces you destroy-"

"Stephen, it’s all right" said Tony with a soft voice, taking a step to pull Stephen away from the soldier. Steve noticed the man didn't resist Tony's pull, his touch like a soothing balm on the man’s ire.

"This is what is left of me Steve, all thanks to you. The internal bleeding coupled with a collapsed lung damaged my already deteriorated organs, the blood loss and the exposure to the extreme cold left some very permanent damage" he said, his eyes transfixed on his metal hand.

"But then, how..." he asked, unable to phrase his question.

Tony looked him in the eye, and Steve resisted the urge to look away from those piercing eyes.

"Well, Stephen saved my life, as you’ve probably figured out” Tony said slowly, as if deliberating if Steve deserved any sort of explanation. After a moment he continued “But there was only so much magic could do to help me, so we set out to look for other options. It took a while, but I received some help from an incredibly advanced country hidden in the middle of nowhere, and I benefited from some of its most advanced medical treatments"

Steve knew immediately what Tony was referring to "Wakanda" he said in a whisper.

"Indeed, King T'Challa has been most generous in his offer to make up for his past...actions"

Steve felt his lungs aching for oxygen, and he belatedly realized his breathing had become shallow. A sudden fear gripping his heart. If Tony had been in contact with T'Challa, it only meant one thing, Tony probably knew Bucky was in Wakanda “Tony, I know you think Bucky is responsible for what happened to your parents, but it wasn't him! He was under HYDRA's influence! You have to believe me!"

Tony's condescending look froze Steve's plea on his lips.

"James Buchanan Barnes was offered the psychological help he so desperately needed, the same deal I offered YOU when you were about to sign the accords. Barnes chose to be put back into cryogenesis instead, following Wakanda's top medic opinions. His condition proved to be very challenging, even to some of the most advanced technology in the world. He understood that his condition had turned him into a potential threat to Wakanda's inhabitants" Tony explained with a detached tone.

"Did Bucky really choose that? Why didn't he tell me? T'Challa promised me he would keep him safe!" Steve said distraughtly. He couldn't help the insidious feeling that Tony was behind the king's actions, a sudden rage filling him.

"Don't be dense Rogers, the king IS keeping Barnes safe. No other government will ever be able to snatch him away and use his Winter Soldier programming for their advantage, besides, Wakanda's best medics are still working to find a cure for him, even though he chose to sleep. I thought you understood this, T'Challa told me himself he had discussed these possibilities with you, said you had agreed to them" Tony said with a voice one would use when dealing with a particularly dense child.

It was true, T'Challa had mentioned this possibility, said they would have to contain Bucky if they couldn't find a cure. But Steve had been so sure Bucky would go back to his old self, that he hadn't even considered the prospect that the Wakandan medics wouldn't be able to cure him.

A heavy silence filled the room. Steve's head was reeling. He couldn't believe Bucky had chosen to go into the cold again, that meant he was once again alone in this world.

"Why did you do it Tony? Did Ross force you into all this?" he asked, his voice barely containing his rage. He refused to believe Tony had sold them like that.

"Oh, no captain, Ross had nothing to do with this, as a matter of fact, the general is being trialed for tampering with the Accords right as we speak, accused of using them and the power they conferred him to fulfill his own agenda"

"As for the WHY" he continued with a bored expression "I've already told you, someone needed to stop you"

"And you decided it needed to be you Tony" Steve asked heatedly.

"Well, someone had to. I'm sure you're aware that you're public enemy number one right now. There are a lot of people out there ready to take down a super soldier gone rogue, and believe me, many of the governments you messed with, including our own, have deployed some deadly force tasks that have been trying to take you down" With a movement of his hand, a couple of blue screens materialized around them, containing some news headlines dating back several months.

Each headline described the tense political atmosphere the world had plummeted into after the rogues had escape from the raft. Several governments had threatened with breaching into the US to get a hold of the rogues, afraid of the implications that there were enhanced individuals out there that responded to no authority but their own, desperate to find a way to make someone pay for the death and destruction they had suffered under the Avengers interventions. The political tension had even bleed into the global markets, affecting many economies, destabilizing some small countries that had had nothing to do with the Accords or the Avengers in the first place.

Steve suddenly understood the magnitude of his actions. He had never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that his decisions could have had a major impact on the entire world. He could now understand how the world saw him, a super soldier that obeyed no one, an enhanced that had no problem with taking down his own teammates. He'd been so focused on helping his childhood friend that he never took a moment to consider all the consequences it might bring them.

"So, it was only a matter of luring you out of your hidinghole. And look, here you are!" Tony said as a matter of fact, crossing his arms across his chest.

Steve's mind was spinning. They had known they were being targeted by several countries, but he had been totally blindsided. He had never considered the possibility that they were being led into a trap.

Turning around Tony started to climb the stairs once again.

"Why did you fake your own death Tony?" Steve asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the floor, his mind still trying to comprehend everything he had discovered.

"Hmm? You're talking about the lab? Oh, I didn't fake that, we needed to kill Tarleton's abomination" Tony said without stopping or looking back at the restrained man.

"You what?!" asked Steve perplexedly.

"Good bye Rogers" Tony said from atop the large staircase, disappearing into the shadows of the old Sanctum.

"Tony wait!" he yelled after the man, only to find himself enveloped in a suddenly overwhelming darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When Steve opened his eyes again, he found himself on the floor of an empty and brightly lit cell, the sudden change of light blinding him for a moment. He noticed a dark silhouette on the other side of the room, an imposing figure rapidly approaching his cell.

“Welcome Captain” said a voice he recognized.

“Rhodey! What’s going on?” He asked in a low voice, his head still ringing from the strange trip he had taken.

“Steven Grant Rogers, you are under arrest on charges of international terrorism as well as attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking-”

“Rhodey, I know you think you’re helping Tony, but this is wrong! Listen to me!” Steve said pleadingly, trying to make him see some reason.

Rhodey continued as if he hadn’t heard the man “You will be held in here as precaution. Your trial will begin in a week. Goodbye Rogers" with that, Rhodey turned around and left the room, leaving behind a very disoriented Steve.

Looking around, Steve could see there were several holding cells around his. He saw that Sam and Natasha were both there, unharmed and definitely pissed as hell. Looking to his left he was startled to find a third figure huddled in a far cell, a young woman looking at them with an amused expression, a book held in one of her hands.

“Hey Steve, nice to see you” Wanda said with a cynical grin.

With a low groan Steve let his head fall on his hands. They were all in some deep trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys, I know I left a lot of questions unanswered, but I couldn’t fit everything in Tony’s explanation, it felt too rushed, it wasn’t working for me, so instead of doing a crappy ending I’m planning on making a couple of chapters from Tony’s POV, so hopefully, everything will make sense. Are there any particular things you’re interested in finding out?  
> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!!


	15. Extra 1 Tony's reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Extra 1 - Tony reveals he's still alive, but has suffered extensive body modifications as a result of his fight with the Winter Soldier and Captain America, that include metallic chest plates as well as a pair of metall hands and limbs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to portray Tony's modifications, but I discovered I suck at drawing robot arms, sooo, just imagine he has some cool metallic limbs ok? great!

Steve felt time stand still, he could barely believe what his eyes were seeing. Standing on top of the shadowy staircase was the silhouette of the man he had been looking for months.

"Tony! You're alive!" he said in awe.

"Well... that's one way to put it" the man said, taking a few steps down the stairs.

Taking a step back, Tony raised his arm, revealing a metal hand beneath his large hoodie, the movement pushed the jacket partially open, revealing a hint of metal covering part of Tony's torso as well as the man's neck.

 

 


	16. Extra 2 The rogues meet the Sorcerer Supreme

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Extra 2 Stephen confronts the rogues that have broken into the Sanctum Sanctorum

The three rogues stepped cautiously into the foyer of the silent building, the door closing by itself with a soft thud behind them. 

They heard someone clearing their throat from the other side of the large room, there was an imposing figure clad in a red cloak standing in the shadows of the large threshold looking at them with unimpressed eyes. 

"Strange!" Steve yelled, caught off guard by the sudden presence.

"Hello Captain. We've been expecting you"

 


	17. Extra 3 A meaningful conversation

Hi everyone, I bring a quick drawing to show you all I haven’t given up on this story. 

Quick question to whomever might still be interested in reading this fic, would you guys prefer to: 

a) know what happened to Tony immediately after cap left him on that bunker and solve the whole mystery from there

or 

b) get a glimpse of how Tony and Stephen met and how they came to collaborate in the first place 

Either way we’ll get to see how they end up together, but I’m having a hard time deciding how long to make this story. If you guys choose the later option, should I write it as a separate part of this story? As a sort of prequel to it all?

Thanks in advance for any and all your comments, I’m pretty sure they’ll help me get over this godamned writer’s block.

 


	18. Chapter 15. Tony's Story Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter finally reveals what happened to Tony after the events of CW, and we'll soon learn the missing pieces to this mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long absence, I've had a lot on my plate lately with family/work/others, but I'm really hoping to get some free time and once again start posting chapters on a weekly basis.  
> Looking at the results from the small poll I did last chapter, the majority seemed more interested in hearing what happened to Tony during all this mystery, so here's a (very) small preview of that. I'm still planing on writing the story of how and when Stephen and Tony met, but for the purpose of finally solving this mystery, I'll leave that for another time.  
> A big thank you to all of you that are still reading this even after so much time. And as always, I really appreciate all your feedback and comments.

The sun was rapidly setting down over the snow-covered horizon, the freezing wind howling through the openings on the large and cold room. The echoes of voices, of shouts and footsteps were long gone. The only sound that remained was a low and painful wheezing, the sound of a dying man fighting for his life.

Tony Stark laid on the frozen floor of a semi-darkened room, trapped inside his disabled armor, its dead weight too much for his injured body to move around easily. His panicked eyes shone brightly with unshed tears, a red gleam reflected on his dilatated pupils. He’d tried everything his desperate mind could think of to escape, to no avail. He was too tired, his body too wounded and his mind too unfocused to look for a way out of that frozen place. His labored breath echoed around him, the twisted metal from his armor imbedding itself more deeply with each movement of his chest.

He was rapidly losing consciousness, the warm blood dripping through his many wounds cooling almost instantly over his cold skin, pooling around him with alarming speed on the cracked floor. Tony was in shock, the events leading to his current situation played on a constant loop inside his head, paralyzing his every effort to come up with a way to escape. His desperation grew larger with each painful breath, the realization that he was in a very real danger of dying was dulled by a sort of sickening acceptance, an insidious voice inside his head whispering to let go, to end all the pain and suffering.

The day's last rays of sun hit the opening on the far wall, flooding the room with a bright light before disappearing completely, leaving Tony immersed in an unforgiving darkness. But for a brief instant, the light caught on something on the floor, reflecting a bright emerald light near the far side of the room, before fading away quickly.

The reflected light caught Tony's attention, like a siren's song calling to him, its presence breaking the fog in his mind for a moment. With superhuman effort he concentrated his remaining strength, managing to turn his body over and landing on his stomach, his head hitting the ground with a sickening thud. A pitiful whimper escaped his lips, his vision going black from the sheer pain the metal stabbing his chest sparked.

Tony laid there for a long time, loosing and regaining his consciousness at intervals, his breathing becoming more elaborate and ragged with every passing minute. Laying his head on the floor he turned to look in the direction where the green light had come from. He could barely make out something lying on the floor, 'a pendant' his fuzzy mind helpfully supplied, and it slowly downed on him it was the pendant Stephen had given him all those months ago. He concluded the thing must have been ripped from him during the fight.

With his mind rapidly losing its hold on any coherent thought, he focused all his attention on that small green spark, willing himself to make a last effort to get to it. He dragged his wounded body along the icy surface, the metal of the suit scrapping the floor with each movement. Body shaking and out of breath, he extended his rapidly numbing hand expecting to reach the pendant, only for his fingers to grasp something cold and metallic. The captain's shield was laying there in front of him, obstructing his way.

 

An angry and desperate grunt escaped Tony’s lips as he tried to push the shield away, but his bloody hands were slippery and unresponsive, so in the end he decided to half-crawl over the thing.  With one final effort he finally managed to reach the pendant from where it laid among some debris.

Once he held it, his muddled mind supplied no useful information. Not sure anymore why he had made the effort to get it, he succumbed to the blissful darkness once more, the hand holding the pendant dropping to the floor, his fist giving it a small squeeze before he lost all sense of his body, laying there completely still.

A few seconds went by before a bright orange light illuminated the darkened room, a muffled shout could be heard from the other side, before a tall shape stepped through the portal, falling to its knees next to Tony's cold body.

 

 

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

 

Chaos reigned inside the compound. People ran from one side of the room to the other, hurried orders were being shouted while a stretcher was pushed with urgency through a pair of double doors and into an operating room.

Stephen Strange and Pepper Potts followed the stretcher closely, their hurried steps almost at a run to keep up with the medics. Tony Stark’s injured body had been rescued from an abandoned Siberian bunker twenty minutes ago, with clear signs of organ failure and severe blood loss.

Stephen had had to pried open the suit using his magic, the discarded pieces the only witnesses of the brutal fight Tony had been involved in. While the compound's medical personnel laid Tony into a stretcher, Stephen unglued his eyes from the broken man to look at the metal shield Tony had been holding when he found him. The suit's massive dent on its chest piece gave Stephen a clear idea of what had happened, but not the reason behind it.

A sudden rage filled the sorcerer, whatever had happened between Tony and the Captain, it had been ugly, and by the looks of it, the super soldier had not restrained himself. Stephen's clenched jaw was the only visible sign of the tremor boiling inside him. For an instant he felt tempted to flee the scene and hunt down the captain like a rabid dog, but he knew he was needed right where he was, they still weren’t sure if Tony could survive his injuries, so the sorcerer took a few calming breaths, clearing his mind and focused on the tasks at hand.

Both Pepper and Stephen came to a halt in front of the operating room’s double doors, and he suddenly felt Pepper’s hand griping his arm tightly.

"Stephen please, look after him, make sure they do everything in their power to save him" she said with pleading eyes, her somber face reflecting her deep grief.

He could only blink, a tight lump in his throat making it impossible to get out any words. He knew Tony’s life was fading quickly, but he would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power to help the man. Giving Pepper a quick nod, he turned around, stepping into a room full of doctors and nurses working to save Tony Stark's life.


	19. Extra 4 Frozen Bunker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art from chapter 15.  
> WARNING! This chapter contains some art depicting blood and a possibly frozen Tony Stark, please don't look if you are sensible to this sort of thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long absence, I've had a lot on my plate lately with family/work/others these past couple of months, but I'm really hoping to post some new chapters pretty soon.  
> Thank you in advance to the people who have kept an eye on this story, I'm really sorry I haven't gotten back to so many of you, free time has really become a non-existant thing in my life, but please know that I appreciate all your comments/kudos, and they're the reason I haven't given up completelly on this story. From the bottom of my heart thank you all so much!.

"Stephen feared he'd been too late, the image before him almost leaving him completelly paralized: Tony’s unmoving form laying on top of Captain America’s shield, covered in a pool of his own blood, his lips a sickly blue, his skin a deathly pale..."


	20. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People close to Tony try to make sense of what happened to the man, while hoping against hope that he will survive his injuries. Things look very bleak for Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long absence, I've had a lot on my plate lately with family/work/others these past couple of months, but I'm really hoping to post some new chapters pretty soon.  
> Thank you in advance to the people who have kept an eye on this story, I'm really sorry I haven't gotten back to so many of you, free time has really become a non-existant thing in my life, but please know that I appreciate all your comments/kudos, and they're the reason I haven't given up completelly on this story. From the bottom of my heart thank you all so much!.

Even as a small child, Virginia “Pepper” Potts had never allowed adversity to stand in her way. She had made a long and successful career based on her quick thinking and problem-solving skills, but for the first time in many years she found herself at a loss on what to do. She’d spent the last forty minutes glued to her phone, raising hell trying to find Tony, whom she’d last seen two days ago, before he disappeared on a conspicuously ambiguous mission under the orders of one General Ross.

That same week, Tony had sent her a message asking her to keep an eye on Rhodey while he was away. The radio silence that followed that last message was unnerving. Tony rarely went under the radar these days; bad past experiences had taught him the importance of letting at least one person know of his whereabouts when going on solo missions.

Pepper’s suspicions were further raised when all her subsequent attempts at communicating with Tony where unsuccessful– an unrelated SI emergency that needed his immediate attention had prompted her to try and get a hold of him in the first place- but she was met with FRIDAY’s vague message that Tony was on a “top secret mission”. She wouldn’t have worried too much, if not for the emergency message she received several hours later, alerting not only her, but all of Tony’s closest contacts, of the man’s abrupt loss of contact with the AI.

Pepper, Happy and Rhodey had called each other immediately, trying to figure out what had happened.

“Ms. Potts, what is going on? I got a call from FRIDAY! Boss knows that specific security protocol is not to mess with! We stablished it would only be used whenever boss got into real trouble, if he’s using it again to-…”

“Happy, this is real. I got the message as well; we need to move fast! We need to find him, I have Rhodey on the other line right now…”

“Jesus fucking Christ, I’m sorry Ms. Potts! I’m on my way!”

As Pepper ended the call, she turned back to look at Rhodey’s bruised and anxious face looking at her from the display screen in front of her. The man was still recovering from his near-death experience, the reality of his new condition still looming over them all.

Before Happy’s call, FRIDAY had been debriefing them on Tony’s last known location: Siberia. And wouldn’t they all love to know just what the hell Tony had been doing there, but FRIDAY’s protocols where unfortunately still in place, and without Tony’s express authorization, she could not disclose the nature of his apparent ‘secret mission’, only his last known coordinates.

“FRIDAY, can you tell us if he’s hurt? What happened to him?”

“I have no current readings on Mr. Stark’s present stats Mrs. Potts, my last readings indicate he was under severe stress” said the AI cryptically. FRIDAY was having a hard time circumventing her own creator’s failsafe, as she tried to give as much information as she could without divulging any details from Tony’s mission.

Pepper and Rhodey shared a preoccupied glance, they were running out of time, and without the AI’s help they feared they wouldn’t be able to find Tony on time.

“FRIDAY, was Tony alone? Was he to meet with someone in Siberia?”

After a brief silence the AI answered, and Rhodey could almost hear regret in her voice “I’m sorry Colonel, I cannot disclose that information”

With a frustrated grunt, he turned back to Pepper “I’m going Pep, if he’s in trouble we need to get him out of there”

Pepper’s protests died on her lips at the look on Rhodey’s face. Her inner conflict between finding Tony and sending her injured friend out there was tearing her apart. She knew she was underestimating him because of his wounds, but he was an experienced soldier after all, and most importantly, he was still an avenger.

“I can pull some favors, ask to get clearance for an extraction mission, we’ve got some undercover people in the kremlin that could be dispatched right away, they could be there in about-”

Pepper and Rhodey’s planning were suddenly interrupted by a golden portal that materialized right in the middle of the room. Through the bright golden sparks stepped out Dr. Stephen Strange, a concerned expression on his face.

Pepper welcomed the newcomer with a heavy sigh of relief. In the months following the avenger’s breakup, the Doctor had become one of Tony’s closest allies. She knew that if anyone had a real chance of finding Tony, it would be him.

“Stephen, thank God you’re here, did you also get a message?”

 “Yes, I came as soon as I could, have you found him?”

“Not yet, we’re still looking for him, he was apparently sent on a mission to Siberia by General Ross” came Rhodey’s grave voice from the screen behind Pepper, part of his hospital gown clinging to one of his shoulders.

“Stephen, can you find him?” Pepper’s pleading voice made Stephen´s stomach give a sickening lurch.  He’d hoped the situation wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, but it seemed to be way worse.

“Yes, all I’d need is something to pinpoint him, can FRIDAY give me an exact location?” he asked while extracting his sling rings, preparing himself to open a portal.

“FRIDAY lost contact with him over an hour ago, we only have an approximation of his last known coordinates” said Rhodey with a glimmer of hope, propping himself a bit higher on his hospital bed.

“That would suffice, I only need…” Stephen lost track of his words as he felt a sharp flash of heat coming from inside his robes. With slightly trembling hands he fetched a small pendant that hung over his chest, it’s once bright emerald light was now black, and its material seemed charred. Sudden realization hit him, as he hurried to open the portal. Focusing all his energy on sensing the traces of magic coming from the other half of the now destroyed pendant.

An abrupt gust of gelid wind hit the room as the portal opened. Several muffled gasps where heard at the scene beyond the magical gateway: Tony’s unmoving form laying on top of Captain America’s shield, covered in a pool of his own blood, his lips a sickly blue, his skin a deathly pale.

 

\--------------------

Pepper felt like a caged animal. With nothing left to do except waiting for news on Tony’s surgery, she had restored to pacing the compound's long halls back and forth, phone in hand, trying her best to track down General Ross, the last known person to have contacted Tony before leaving for Siberia. So far, her efforts had proved fruitless; the General refused to answer her calls, leaving her no option but to call in a few favors to try and find out what had happened in that bunker.

As CEO of Stark’s Industries, Pepper had gathered an ample assortment of contacts, and she was willing to use each and every one of those to make General Ross acknowledge her rage.  She knew it was unlikely someone would disclose any top-secret information to her, but she was more than willing to put as much pressure as she could on the general, make it known that he would not get away with using Tony and his position on the Accords with such impunity.

Roger’s obvious involvement and presumably that of the winter soldier were another rapidly growing concern; the implications of one of America’s most iconic superheroes siding with a presumed terrorist could potentially bring about the end of the already disbanded avengers and everything they represented, it could even have repercussions on Tony´s current leverage over the impending legislation of the Sokovia Accords.

Tony had known for quite a while that things in the congress where simmering, he’d been telling Pepper as much for the past couple of years (now, most people wouldn’t believe it, but the man had a real knack for politics). According to him, it was only a matter of time before the government came up with an excuse to police all enhanced individuals, and Sokovia had given not only their government, but many others around the world the perfect opportunity to cry out for these (in their opinion) long due regulations to be implemented.

And so, much like the mythological prophet Cassandra, Tony had been doomed to try to convince others around him of the future he had predicted, only to be dismissed as a lunatic, specially from those closest to him. Pepper felt her blood boil, she had known for the longest time the sort of relationship Tony had with the former superheroes, knew of the constant clashes Tony had had with them over the years, but this? This was outrageous! If Pepper managed to find out what had happened in that bunker, she would not rest until she made sure the culprits got what they deserved, preferably delivered by her own hand.

This blinding rage on behalf of Tony made Pepper stop cold in her tracks, after all, she and Tony had mutually decided to take a break and had been respectively seeing other people for the last couple of months. After Sokovia and Ultron, their relationship had suffered a major blow that had brought Pepper on the brink of cutting all her ties from Tony, from her job and her close friends and family. But deep down, Pepper knew Tony was such an important part of her life that she could not simply turn her back on him, so, as unlikely is it had seemed, they had managed to remain close friends.

Her introspection was cut short by a small sound coming from behind her. Turning around she saw Vision floating down the hall towards her, a frown marring his otherwise impassive face.

"Mrs. Potts are you all right? I got a message from FRIDAY telling me Mr. Stark had been injured"

Pepper felt overwhelm, she took a couple of seconds to compose herself before looking at the android. "We're still not sure what happened to him Viz… all we know is he went to a high security prison called “the Raft” under orders of General Ross. Apparently, Sam Wilson told him where to find Steve and the Winter Soldier. When FRIDAY lost contact with him a couple of hours ago, she put in motion one of her emergency protocols""

“I see” was all the android said, more intimately familiar with all of Tony’s protocols than any of them could ever be “How is Mr. Stark?”

Pepper could only shake her head, unwilling to break down. Taking a deep breath, she managed to find her voice again “Not good, Viz, we’re still not sure if he’s going to make it”

The android seemed startled by the news “I am terribly sorry Mrs. Potts. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Thank you Viz, but I doubt there’s anything any of us can do to help right now” she said with a watery smile. They both stood in awkward silence for a moment before the android spoke again.

“Mrs. Potts pardon me but, you mentioned Captain Rogers. Would it be safe to assume he might know what happened to Mr. Stark?”

Pepper’s enraged face must’ve been answer enough for Vision, who simply nodded his understanding.

“Perhaps I should make myself useful after all and investigate on my own. FRIDAY sent me a set of coordinates in Siberia, is that where you found Mr. Stark?”

Pepper nodded tiredly “Yes, Stephen found him in some sort of bunker there, he said the place looked very damaged...Perhaps it’s not such a bad idea for you to investigate Viz, please keep FRIDAY updated on anything you find”

“I will certainly do so Mrs. Potts. Would you be so kind to keep me informed on any news from Mr. Stark’s recovery?”

“We’ll tell you if there’s any change Viz, I promise”

The Android inclined his head, before turning around and floating back the way he had come.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey if anyone knows of someone that does fanfic/written commissions or some Beta readers, I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know, I really REALLY don't want to abandon this story, so I'm thinking commissioning someone to help me out could be the answer. Thanks in advance!


	21. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter learns Tony has gone missing, and is adamant in trying to find him. Happy is simply tired and anxious

Peter had never ran so fast in his entire life. He’d never felt his lungs aching so hard from the exertion, his desperation growing by the minute.

He’d received a message from FRIDAY on his Starkphone not five minutes ago, alerting him of an emergency. Peter’s heart had stopped for a moment, his eyes reading and re-reading the message several times trying to make sense of it. ‘CODE RED: BACK UP NEEDED’ it had read in bold red letters.

He’d bolted out of the cafeteria, his friend’s worried calls following him through the back doors of the building, none of them had missed the pale and shocked look on his face.

He’d quickly changed into his costume, franticly trying to get in contact with FRIDAY. He knew the message was a call for help from Mr. Stark, and the realization frightened him, what could have happened that prompted Mr. Stark to ask for help? He tried to keep his fears in check, but something about that message spooked him. The fact that none of his calls got through to FRIDAY only made things worse.

He decided to contact his next best option, convinced that at least Happy would know what was going on.

“Happy! I’m so glad you picked up! I got a message from FRIDAY! But I can’t contact Mr. Stark! Where is he? Where’s the emergency? Do you know what can I do to he-”

“Kid, calm down!” Peter noted Happy’s voice sounded suspiciously gruff, like the man was making a great effort to contain some emotion from drowning his voice. Peter’s heart sank; he knew right away whatever it was, it was bad.

“Happy, what’s going on? Where is Mr. Stark? Did something happen to him? I can help! What can I do? I can get there in no time, just tell me where he is, I can hurry up and-”

A deep weary sigh was all the response he got, he made a great effort to keep his mouth shut, gripping the phone like it was a lifeline, listening intently to the hitched breathing on the other side of the line.

“Don’t fret kid, Mr. Stark… he’s… we found him, he was-he was missing but we’ve found him”

Peter knew he ought to feel relieved by Happy’s words, but deep down he knew there was something very wrong, his anxiety skyrocketed, making him babble non-stop. “Happywhereishe?Whereareyou?Maybethere’ssomethingIcando!There’sgottabesomethingIcandotohelp!”

“Peter, please calm down, we’re taking care of him, ok? We’re looking after him”

But Peter was determined to see Mr. Stark, and he told Happy so, threatening to look all over the city if he had to.

“Fine, come to the compound, I’ll explain everything when you get here” the man said defeatedly, his voice sounding incredibly tired.

Peter was surprised his threats had worked, but he wasn’t about to question his luck. He rushed to the compound, hoping against hope that Mr. Stark was safe.

 

 

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Peter reached the compound in record time, not even waiting for the main entrance gate to fully open, making a clean jump over the two-meter fence.

His frantic run across the front yard was intercepted by Happy, who feared for a moment the teenager wasn’t going to stop. Even though the teen had his mask on, Happy could almost see the anxious face beneath it. Peter doubled over for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

“Happy, what happened? Is Mr. Stark ok? Where is he? Is there anything I can do – “

“Calm down kid, take a deep breath. That’s it, nice and slow. Ok, keep breathing…” Happy tried to calm the frantic kid, it would help no one to have a hyperventilating superpowered kid running around the compound causing mayhem.

Taking his mask off with one hand, Peter took a large gulp of air, his matted hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

“Happy-” Peter’s pleading voice broke Happy’s barely contained composure. He tried to clear his throat, loath to fall apart in front of the kid.

“He’s in surgery kid, he’s- he’s in very bad shape”

Happy had to grab Peter by the scruff of the neck, as the boy had already taken off at full speed towards the compound.

“Arghh, wha-”

“Peter, there’s something I need to tell you…” Happy pleaded, holding the kid with everything he had. This was the second hardest conversation he’d had today. He knew for a fact he was the last person who should be having this talk with the kid, but there was no one else. How was he going to tell Peter, a kid that had already lost his family twice, that the person he idolized and looked up to as a father figure was on the brink of death? Happy felt it was all very unfair for everyone, including himself.

A couple of minutes later saw the two of them walking up to the compound, a coy and red rimmed eyed Peter walking under Happy’s guiding hand on his nape. He was the image of a lost and scared kid even though he was trying his best to hide it. Happy led him to an improvised waiting room, where Pepper greeted him with a watery smile.

 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Everything was a mess.

Happy had done his best to be useful, but there was nothing he, or any of them, could really do to help. The burden of keeping Tony alive rested on the surgeons’ hands, but all of Happy’s hopes were put solely on Stephen Strange.

Despite spending the last couple of years voicing his contempt against his bosses’ decision to run among superpowered clowns, he had never been happier his boss had chosen to surround himself with _these_ superheroes that clearly cared for him. For one, Happy was glad that Strange was IN FACT a doctor, and not some other asshole using a fake alias, just like a certain someone that loved to be called ´captain´. He knew he was being petty, but in that moment all Happy knew was that one of his best friends had gone looking for Captain America and had almost not made it back alive.

It had seemed like hours before Strange had come around to the waiting room, where Pepper, Peter and Happy had congregated. He had explained how Tony had suffered extensive damage to a large portion of his organs, including a shattered rib cage, heart and liver failure and a high risk of an embolism due to several blood clots that had formed in his system, on top of a cranioencephalic trauma from a hard blow to the head. The doctors had decided to put him in an induced coma, in the hopes of the swelling on his brain to diminish. Things did not look good for Tony.

From his explanation, Happy gathered that Strange had not only used standard medical procedures, but some of his mystical powers as well. He’d explained that he’d channeled his energy into Tony to heal some of his more gruesome injuries, but it hadn’t been enough.

“But why can’t you heal all his injuries?” came Happy’s gruff question. He knew he was being an ass, not even thanking the man, and demanding a miracle on top of it.

“That’s not how magic works I’m afraid” Stephen answered with a tired sigh, not taking offense to Happy’s gruff demand “In order for a body to heal, that body’s own energy must work to restore itself; in a way, magic can only enhance a body’s own ability to heal. I channeled some of my own energy to help Tony, but his wounds are too extensive, and I’m afraid not even my power can replace Tony’s own healing abilities” Stephen had seriously considered pouring all his vital force into Tony, in an attempt to bring the man back from the brink of death, but he soon realized it would not be enough, that he would most likely sacrifice his life and it would still not be enough to guarantee Tony’s survival. So he’d done the next best thing, focusing his powers to stabilize him, buying them some time to come up with a more permanent solution.

“You mean, the moment you stop channeling energy into him, his body would go back to breaking down because it’s so weak it can’t keep up with all the damage?” asked Pepper with horrified eyes, realizing what the situation entailed.

Stephen simply nodded somberly.

“Couldn’t we take turns? Giving him energy I mean? Perhaps if enough of us do it over a period of time, we could help Mr. Stark, give his body enough time to heal itself” Peter asked with a frown, tear streaks still visible down his boyish face.

Stephen felt a pang of affection for the kid, the idea wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility, but it would take an incredibly practiced sorcerer to syphon one’s own energy and channel it into another body, and even then, the risks were very high.

“I’m afraid that’s not how it works either Peter, in order for you to give energy you would have to have some training in the mystical arts, and it would take much longer than we have right now”

Pepper reached out and gave Peter a one arm hug, the kid looked like he was doing his best not to show how heart broken he was, not being able to help.

´So magic could only help Tony so much at this point´ Happy thought with a heavy heart. Talks of organ transplants and induced comas followed, but Happy had been too stunned to pay any real attention. He was desperately trying to recall those prayers his mother had taught him as a child, perhaps someone up there would be willing to lent him an ear.

 

 

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When Tony was finally taken to post operation, Stephen led Pepper into the silent room. The sight of the broken man lying motionless in bed was too much for her. Tony had tubes that helped him breath coming out of his mouth, his swollen face was an unrecognizable mess, his skin a deathly pale that clashed with the ugly red and blue bruises that bloomed all over his body. His arms and feet were bandaged, but Pepper could see that the skin beneath the bandages was deep blue, a clear sign of the frost damage his limbs had suffered.

 

But the most horrifying thing was Tony's chest, even with the many bandages covering it, it looked oddly caved in, with an unusual pattern across his ribcage, almost as if something had been forcibly imbedded across it.

Pepper felt sick for a moment, she could feel herself fainting at the sight of all the damage Tony had suffered, but she forcibly controlled herself, closing her eyes and her hands into tight fists.

"What happens next? Is he going to wake up?" She managed to say with a hoarse whisper, her hands aching to touch Tony, but she was afraid she’d hurt him somehow.

"We still don't know" Stephen answered with a tired voice "he's lucky to be alive"

He let out a deep sigh, his years as a doctor helping him detach from the situation, focusing on the task at hand "We have to wait for the swelling on his brain to go down, only then will we know just how extensive is the brain damage"

"Brain damage...?" she gasped, somehow the possibility had never occurred to her.

"Yes, the blood loss and the head contusion are likely to leave him with permanent sequelae”

"Jesus Christ”

Pepper was desolated, she felt her world was collapsing around her, but looking at Stephen standing beside her, she instantly knew she wasn’t the only one suffering. The grief reflected in the man’s eyes made Pepper’s heart go out to him, she’d long suspected the man had feelings for Tony. It must be horrible being in his position, doing his best but being unable to heal a loved one.

 “Thank you, Stephen, for everything you’ve done for Tony” she said with a watery smile.

Stephen tried his best to keep up his poker face, but the emotion was too much. His vision was blurry with his unshed tears, his throat closed with grief, he only managed a stiff nod. As they stood watching Tony’s slow breathing, he promised himself he wouldn’t give up, he would find a way to help Tony.

 

 

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The clouds over the clear sky rippled with the force of an invisible energy, a small aircraft cruised its vast expanse undetected, blending itself seamlessly with the colors around it. King T´Challa piloted the state-of-the-art jet, his attention briefly interrupted by an incoming message.

“Okoye, what is it?”

“My king, we’ve received some startling news. Our intelligence has intercepted several American coded messages, they report the disappearance of Iron Man, he is presumed dead and it is heavily implied that he was taken down by the terrorist known as the Winter Soldier, they also seem to believe he was aided by Captain America”

A shocked breath escaped the king’s lips. T’Challa could barely believe what he was hearing. How could this have happened?! A wrenching feeling made his stomach drop.

“What do the reports say?” he finally asked.

“They indicate that Iron Man was last seen en route to Siberia my king, where he was to apprehend the fugitives Captain America and the Winter Soldier”

T’Challa felt his blood turn to ice. He’d been there capturing Zemo while the others fought. He hadn’t felt the need to intervene, opting to follow his selfish need to seek revenge. For his gross oversight a man had paid with his life.

He felt sick, betrayed, he’d received a call from the Captain not twelve hours before. T’Challa had been eager to offer his aid to the Captain, had made it clear he no longer sought revenge against the captain’s friend, had even promised to provide medical treatment to help the brainwashed Winter Soldier if the need arose, Rogers had declined the offer for the time being, thanking T’Challa for his kindness. How could Rogers have been so calm during the call?! If T’Challa had known… with a deep breath he tried to reign in his temper, he would give both men the benefit of the doubt, at least until he learnt what had happened on that bunker.

 “Okoye, send a direct message to Colonel Rhodes and to Mrs. Pepper Potts, let them know they have my full support on whatever they need. If a search party is required tell them we could provide several aircrafts, all of them at their immediate disposition”

“Understood my king”

With a heavy sigh he tried to clear his head, he would not make the same mistake twice, he would not throw himself blindly into a situation before thoroughly learning both sides of the story.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I should keep apologyzing each time I update, but trully I am sorry for the snail pace update.


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